BP shares fall as Rosneft tie-up blocked

Oil major BP shares have dived this morning after its planned tie-up with Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft was blocked by the courts.

A ruling yesterday from an arbitration tribunal said BP's proposed partnership with Rosneft could not go ahead. The deal was vetoed after Alfa Access Renova (AAR), its partner in the TNK-BP venture, accused BP of a "serious misjudgement" in its decision to do a deal with Rosneft. BP said in a statement last night the Rosneft proposal - which included a share swap deal and an agreement to carry out Artic exploration together - remained blocked by an injunction. It has now been forced to see if the share swap deal can go ahead on its own. The group said: "BP has always been, and r...