In 2003, with the blessing of both the British Prime Minister and the Russian President, BP and a group of Russian oligarchs announced the creation of a strategic partnership to hold their joint assets situated in Russia and Ukraine. This event was the creation of the company TNK-BP.
This joint venture has never been far from the news, and in 2008 disputes over corporate governance and future strategy emerged. The only oil company operating in Russia with partial foreign control, it emerged that perhaps TNK-BP would be prevented from developing new fields in Russia due to national security rules.
Nevertheless, this joint venture accounts for nearly one-quarter of BP's oil production and one-fifth of its reserves. Limited success, by bringing BP's know-how and technological expertise, boosted the output from the established fields from 1 million bpd production to 1.4 million bpd by 2004.
Despite the issuance of a memorandum of understanding by the joint venture parties in September 2008, the organisation has suffered from government intervention and meddling, environmental disasters in Siberia, and an unsuccessful courtship with Rosneft in 2011.
Write a 2,500-word essay on problems that have beset TNK-BP almost from the initial creation until now. What happened, the reasons for the disputes and the blame-game surrounding the corporate governance issues and the environmental incidents?
Further, interpret and analyse the facts from your research to present an exposition or commentary on how these disputes could have been prevented, or whether the "marriage" was doomed to failure from the start and should never have taken place.
Your own interpretations and conclusions from your researches are fundamental. Supporting your own arguments in a robust and objective manner will qualify for better marks than a simple re-statement of the data and opinion found in the research.
IMPORTANT: There is no need for any detailed financial analysis or description of TNK-BP's operations; concentrate on the principles and cultural and corporate differences. You should ensure that your essay brings the debate up-to-date with events up to 2014.