MOSCOW, July 30 (UPI) -- Russian shareholders for the energy consortium TNK-BP told exiled chief Robert Dudley they are searching to fill top positions in the Moscow office.
Russian Executive Officer for Gas Business Viktor Vekselberg, one of the billionaire shareholders of the consortium, said in a letter to Dudley he assigned top officials in the Moscow office to fill positions left vacant when BP pulled non-resident staff out of the country, Kommersant reported Wednesday.
BP on July 22 withdrew 60 staffers from Moscow following a dispute with Russian migration officials.
Dudley on Friday voluntarily left Moscow, claiming "uncertainties surrounding the status of my work visa and the sustained harassment of the company and myself."
The Russian shareholders accuse BP of blocking attempts to expand operations in Europe, while BP accuses its counterparts of harassment.
