TNK-BP accused of environmental neglect

TNK-BP neglected maintenance on its pipeline networks in Siberia in favor of lucrative payouts, the Russian natural resources minister alleges. Russian Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev has called for "a lawsuit to seek damages" from TNK-BP for oil spills he says have polluted Siberian rivers, The Daily Telegraph newspaper in London reports. Trutnev, who is said to be running for office in the region, visited oil-producing areas of Western Siberia and "deemed TNK-BP's ecological safety work unsatisfactory," the Telegraph adds. A BP spokesman was quoted as saying "the entire Russian oil and gas industry" has environmental problems, not just TNK-BP. TNK-BP is a joint venture between a group of Russian billionaires and British supermajor BP. The British energy company is said to have received $19 billion in dividend payouts since the joint venture was formed in 2003. Both parties to the joint venture have been locked in various administrative rows.