Mikhail Fridman, the leading Russian billionaire shareholder in TNK-BP, escalated a war of words against BP on Monday, saying its “arrogance” was a key reason for a mounting corporate dispute over their joint oil venture.

BP hit back, accusing the Alfa-Access-Renova group of Russian shareholders of launching a concerted attempt to undermine the company’s governance to further their own interests.

It also defended TNK-BP’s record, arguing that since its creation in 2003 the 50-50 venture between BP and AAR had been the best performer in organic production growth and reserves replacement of any leading Russian oil company, and was among the best in terms of its cost of finding oil and returns on capital. ... Read full article