Wednesday June 13, 2007

BP loses appeal against Russian oil field seizure

business.timesonline.co.uk :

BP's Russian joint venture TNK-BP lost the first round in its battle to hold on to its stake in giant Kovykta oil field when a Russian court threw out its appeal against the seizure. A judge said he had ruled to throw out a suit by TNK-BP, which was seeking to stop the authorities from taking away the licence. TNK-BP had claimed that two environmental agencies Rosprirodnadzor and Rosnedr had no legal right to start the process of withdrawing its licence, and that the move was politically motivated.

It is widely believed that the Russian government is using the threat of withdrawal over environmental grounds to force TNK-BP and its privately-owned partner Alfa to give up a proportion of their stake in the oil field operator Rusia Petroleum. It followed a similar strategy with Shell, forcing it to give up a majority stake in the giant Sakhalin-2 oil and gas field project.

- Yet more resource nationalization. Between ongoing oil depletion, getting outbid by state-run companies with deep pockets, and outright nationalization of oil and gas reserves, it's no wonder that the big oil companies seem to be having problems increasing their reserves.

See also :

1. Russia - the rising energy superpower (Shell, Sakhalin 2)
2. Russia threatens to cancel Shell, Mobil and Total's licenses
3. Russia tightens grip on energy
4. Big oil is getting pushed around
5. More oil & gas nationalization (Chad, Venezuela, Dubai, Russia, Indonesia)

(2007-06-13 12:33:00 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Most popular blog postings on lowem.log :

1. Singapore MRT rail network length to double by 2020
2. 2010 Nissan Leaf electric car specifications : 107hp, 24KWh lithium-ion batteries, 100-mile range
3. Live spot gold price quotes chart on COMEX
4. 2010 Toyota Prius specifications released : 50 mpg, 1.8L, 134hp, Ni-MH, solar roof option
5. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 direct download link
6. Real-time live gold and silver price quotes chart on COMEX
7. Singapore electric vehicles : Government agencies EMA and LTA to study EV introduction
8. Book review : Shut Down by William Flynn

Featured articles on lowem.log :

1. Book review : Shut Down by William Flynn
2. Singapore electric cars testing starts with 9 electric vehicles
3. Honda, GS Yuasa JV to make lithium-ion batteries for 2010/2011 Honda Civic Hybrid
4. 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid preliminary specifications released
5. 2010 Honda CR-Z hybrid, 2010 Honda Fit/Jazz hybrid models confirmed
6. 2010 Toyota Prius specifications released : 50 mpg, 1.8L, 134hp, Ni-MH, solar roof option
7. NYMEX crude oil recovers from $32.40 low after 2.2 mbpd OPEC production cut announced
8. Singapore : Nuclear power not ruled out