BP faces shareholder pressure over Russian stake amid Crimea standoff

BP chief executive Bob Dudley (left) with Vladimir Putin. The oil firm has already been drawn into the row over Crimea's annexation by Russia. Photograph: Alexey Druzhinin/AFP/Getty Images

BP is expected to come under pressure at its annual meeting this week to explain how its decision to take a 20% stake in Russia's biggest oilcompany, Rosneft, will be affected by the country's standoff with the west over Crimea.

BP's annual meeting, held at the ExCel centre in London's docklands on Thursday, could see questions from shareholders about Rosneft, continuing legal threats in the US and executive pay and environmental issues.

The British oil group has already been drawn into the row over Russia's annexation of Crimea with calls for Rosneft's delisting from the London Stock Exchange.

There is a risk that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, could expropriate assets from western companies, including BP, said independent analyst Louise Cooper. BP's Rosneft stake accounts for a third of its production volume and gives it a stake in Arctic exploration.

In addition, BP still operates under the cloud of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. It has already paid out billions in compensation to victims but could face further penalties of up to $20bn (£12bn), on top of the existing $40bn bill, if it is found guilty of gross negligence by the US department of justice.

HSBC oil analysts Gordon Gray and Peter Hitchens wrote of the 2010 disaster in the Gulf of Mexico : "In the case of gross negligence 1) BP's balance sheet looks strong enough to weather it in our estimates, and 2) we would expect a multi-year appeal process to mean the near-term financial impact would be limited."

They also thought BP's strategy presentation in early March "did a good job of shifting the strategic emphasis from the post-Macondo [Gulf of Mexico] recovery to its longer-term growth potential".

BP can point to a recent deal with US environmental protection authorities that will enable the oil company to bid for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP's boss, Bob Dudley, could face questions over his pay, which tripled last year, despite the legal threats still hanging over the company. The American, who took the helm at BP towards the end of 2010 after Tony Hayward left, received $8.7m (£5.2m) in salary, bonus and share awardslast year, up sharply from $2.6m in 2012.

BP's share price, around 488p, is still far below its 650p before the Gulf of Mexico disaster. Julia Kollewe