BP Rosneft deal collapses

BP’s troubled deal with state-controlled Russian oil company Rosneft has fallen through.

BP had tried to gain a foothold in Russian's offshore Artic oil fields through the deal.

But it stated this morning it could not resolve a dispute with Russian partners TNK-BP, who challenged its tie-up with Rosneft, according to Reuters.

The landmark deal symbolised the UK oil & gas giant's return to long-term growth following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster in April last year.

A last-ditch attempt to process the deal involved BP and Rosneft making a cash and stock offer to buy out co-owners of BP's Russian venture TNK-BP, but the two companies failed to come to an agreement.

BP had until 7pm yesterday to complete the $16bn share swap with Rosneft as part of a deal that would have given BP access to over 40 billion barrels of oil.

Shares in BP were up 0.75% to 442p at 9.30am.