Trade Department Promotes BP's Fossil Fuel Interests in Russia as UK Touts Climate Credentials, Docs Reveal

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Fossil fuel giant BP has a direct line to UK government officials that it uses to further its interests in Russia, email correspondenceย reveals.

The revelations come just days after prime minister Theresa May said in a speech the UK would use its โ€œinternational influence to drive positive changeโ€, including continuing โ€œto lead the worldโ€ on climateย change.

Meeting notes and correspondence dated between November 2016 and September 2017 suggest a cosy relationship between the company, trade ministers and the UKโ€™s Embassy in Moscow. The documents, obtained by campaign group Culture Unstained,ย show:

  • Secretary of state for the Department of International Trade (DIT) Liam Fox met with BP and was thanked for the support the company received from theย government;
  • The British Embassy in Moscow reached out to company to discuss the โ€œimplications for BPโ€ of internationalย sanctions;
  • BP held meetings with Russian officials at the British Museum under the auspices of its controversial arts sponsorshipย deal.

Liam Fox and BPย Russia

Emails and meeting notes obtained through freedom of information requests suggest a friendly relationship between Fox, DIT officials, and BP.

Fox has a long history of being allied to transatlantic groups that fund and spread disinformation on climate change on behalf of fossil fuel interests. And Foxโ€™s departmentย has previously lobbied for big oilย abroad.

Correspondence between trade minister Greg Handsโ€™ office and BP from November 2016 notes Fox โ€œis keen that Greg had a conversation with Peter Mather, Group Regional President for Europe and Head of Country UK of BP beforeย Christmasโ€.

In January 2017, a high-level meeting was held between Fox, the DITโ€™s head of energy Campbell Keir, and BPโ€™s senior executiveย team.

Large parts of a summary of the meeting have been redacted, but notes from the meeting show the encounter started with a short conversation about Foxโ€™s recent visit to Brazil and the Secretary of State saying โ€œnow is a great time to get intoย Brazilโ€.

It has since been revealed that trade minister Hands lobbied Brazilian officials on behalf of BP and Shell over taxation and environmental regulation, two months after BPโ€™s meeting withย Fox.

According to the meeting notes, a BP official commented โ€œon the good HMG [Her Majestyโ€™s Government] support they [BP] have receivedโ€ and found โ€œtrade envoys veryย helpfulโ€.

The BP official ended the meeting by asking โ€œwhat he could do to help governmentโ€ and asked Fox โ€œto let BP know if there is anything they can do to help HMGโ€, adding that knowing about the departmentโ€™s visits abroad in advance โ€œwould beย helpfulโ€.

Three months later, in March 2017, the DIT hosted a workshop in Aberdeen on โ€œhow to break into Russian oil and gasย sectorโ€.

A leaflet promoting the workshop and emails between the DIT and president of BP Russia, David Campbell, appear to show how the department played an intermediary role between UK oil and gas companies, including BP, and relevant members of the Russian oil and gasย industry.

Emails from the DIT inviting BPโ€™s Campbell to speak at the event show the DIT offered Campbell โ€œ1-2-1 meetingsโ€ with other companies in attendance along with an invitation to โ€œa Dinner after theย eventโ€.

The DIT was also keen to stress that a delegation from Russia would attend the event and โ€œcan offer agent contracts for UKย companiesโ€.

Responding to the FOI release, aย spokesperson for the DIT told DeSmog UK:

โ€œThe UKโ€™s priority, at home and abroad, is to encourage international investment opportunities for UK businesses – ensuring they can build fruitful relationships with overseasย partners.

โ€œWe work with a range of companies in the Oil and Gas industry, which supports over 300,000 jobs in the UK, and accounts for ยฃ73 billion in trade between the UK and the rest of theย world.โ€

Sanctions

The emails also suggest that the British Embassy played a key role in connecting BP with UK government officials as the US was considering placing economic sanctions onย Russia.

In July 2014, prior to the US sanctions, the EU imposed economic sanctions that restrict trade with three major Russian energy companies as well as the export of some industrial technology. The EU has said the sanctions will remain in place until the the Minsk Agreement is fullyย implemented.

In August 2017, President Trump signed a law that saw the US put sanctions on Russia. The sanctions were expected to hit international operations in the country, including the energy sector, with many companies warning of the disruption it would cause to theirย activities.

Emails show how the UK embassy set up a meeting between British embassy officials and BPโ€™s CEO Bob Dudley on the fringe of the St Petersburg Economic Forum on 2 Juneย 2017.

A fortnight later, two days after the US imposed new sanctions on Russia, the British Embassy contacted BP Russia President David Campbell asking for โ€œa quick chat in the next couple of days to talk through the possible implications for BPโ€.

The Financial Times reported that BP said it was expecting to be able to โ€œwork very carefully within the sanctionsโ€, having previously warned of โ€œvery significant unintended consequencesโ€ of an earlier draft of theย bill.

The Trump administration is still working out the details of how to implement theย sanctions.

Sponsorship

The emails also seem to show that the benefits BP receive from its controversial sponsorship of the British Museum go beyond boosting itsย brand.

An email from May 2017 shows the British Museumโ€™s public affairs manager invited the Russian ambassador and cultural attache to meet BP staff in advance of the press launch of an exhibition sponsored by theย company.

In a follow-up email, the Russian embassy press office said the ambassador described the meeting as โ€œvery useful andย positiveโ€.

It is not the first time that the UKโ€™s publicly funded museums have been used to further the companyโ€™s commercial interests. A previous series of emails revealed how BP pressured its cultural partners to increase the number of government VIPs that attended events related to its sponsorshipย deals.

DeSmog UK also previously revealed how another fossil fuel company, Shell, got privileged access to the National Gallery as part of its sponsorshipย deal.

BP did not respond to a request for comment for thisย story.

Image credit: British Council/Flickrย CC BYNCSAย 2.0

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