Ukraine conflict: BP under pressure to sell stake in Russian firm

Oil giant BP is under pressure from the UK government to offload its 20% stake in the Russian state-owned oil firm Rosneft, the BBC has been told.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng spoke to BP boss Bernard Looney on Friday following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

He "left Mr Looney in no doubt about the seriousness of government concerns about BP's overexposure to Russian interests", an official said.

BP has owned the stake in Rosneft for more than a decade.

Mr Looney has a seat on the board alongside its chairman Igor Sechin, who is a close friend and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

UK government officials hinted that a disposal of BP's stake in Rosneft looked like the only plausible option to remedy a "deeply unsatisfactory" arrangement.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, oil prices surged past $100 (£74) a barrel to hit their highest level for more than seven years.

Russia is the second biggest exporter of crude oil, and is also the world's largest natural gas exporter.

Europe gets nearly a third of its oil and around 40% of its gas from Russia, much of it flowing through pipelines across Ukrainian territory.

Concerns remain that sanctions could constrict supplies and drive up prices worldwide.