James Owen the CFO of TNK-BP, Russia's third largest oil company has had his work permit withdrawn by the Russian authorities.

The powers that be in Moscow denied visas to several of BP's top brass including Robert Dudley, TNK-BP's chief exec.

If the executives cannot convince the Russian authorities to reverse their decision, they could be turfed out of Russia by the end of the month, the FT reported.

BP's joint venture with TNK has turned ugly as a fight for overall control of the partnership has broken out.

Owen has held senior positions in several overseas locations. From 1970 to 1972 he was senior auditor for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Brussels and he has also also held financial management positions at Chevron, including the position of director of finance for the Indonesia division of the company before moving on to the same role for the London arm. Owen is also a former CFO of Russian company Tengizchevroil.

Further reading:

BP accused of dealing secretly with Kremlin