Nationalized Russian oil company now owns 5% of BP

For some reason, this sort of government intrusion into their business doesn't feel like a "boot-on-the-neck" to them, though.

The British oil giant BP agreed on Friday to a partnership with Rosneft, a Russian company, forming an alliance to explore the Russian Arctic.
In a share swap under the partnership agreement, the state-owned Rosneft would hold a 5 percent stake in BP while BP would hold 9.5 percent of Rosneft. The deal is worth about $7.8 billion.

The two companies would explore three license blocks on the Russian Arctic continental shelf that were awarded to Rosneft last year and span about 50,000 square miles.

The Times article goes on to talk about how the deal is a "coup" for BP CEO Robert Dudley. Dudley was appointed that position last year after Tony Hayward's ouster because, we were told, it was important to have an American in charge at BP in order to mitigate so-called anti-British outrage at the multinational company that had befouled an American coastline. And yet for some reason, the photo accompanying the article shows Dudley and Rosneft President Eduard Khudainatov sitting at a table behind little flags of the nations their deal represents. Dudley is sitting behind a little British flag. Please do not mistake this for some evidence of BP's identification with one particular nation. This would be very gauche of you.

On the other hand, maybe the Union Jack is a more appropriate item to wrap oneself in than, say, an American flag when one is possibly compromising the strategic interests of that particular country on that particular day.

The deal drew immediate calls for a review by a lawmaker in Washington, who noted that BP was the top petroleum supplier to the United States military in 2009.

The lawmaker, Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts, who is the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, called for a thorough analysis of the deal.

“If this agreement affects the national and economic security of the United States, then it should be immediately reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States,” Mr. Markey said in a statement. “Additionally, the U.S. State Department should closely monitor this transaction.”

The foreign investment committee is coordinated by the Treasury and has the authority to examine foreign purchases of stakes in American companies and to block deals that threaten national security.

“This acquisition will almost certainly complicate the politics of levying and collecting damages from BP following their Gulf of Mexico oil spill,” Mr. Markey said.

Sounds silly, I know. The little flag must mean something, though. Maybe he thought it matched his tie.