The storm has passed, the dark clouds have lifted. BP's bosses join hands with the oligarchs and dance through sun-dappled Siberian meadows. Listening to BP today, you might be forgiven for wondering whether the past six months of turmoil at TNK-BP - allegations of industrial espionage, bureaucratic harassment, visa denials - ever happened.

According to BP, very little has changed as a result of the prolonged tussle with AAR over control of the Russian affiliate. Bob Dudley, the TNK-BP chief executive who was the butt of the oligarchs' ire and fled Moscow a month ago, is out of the picture.

BP will appoint a new chief, a Russian speaker, and there will be three independent directors on the TNK-BP board. All this corporate governance stuff is piffle, says BP, because the shareholder agreement, which governs dividends and investment, is intact. That means, says BP, that its strategy is unchanged.

The mooted public offering of TNK-BP will take two years and could mean selling much less than the suggested 20 per cent of the company, says BP.

If that is the case, we can applaud and breathe a sigh of relief for BP that it is all over. All over until ... the next bust-up?

The positive spin that is being placed on the resolution of this monumental row raises the question of why it occurred in the first place. Within the maelstrom of accusation and counter-accusation, it is almost impossible to find the whole truth but it appears to have happened because the Russian partners wanted control, more say over investment and dividend policy and a more aggressive international strategy.

Their objective, they say, was to build up TNK-BP into a multinational in its own right, not an arm of BP.

For BP, a strategy that builds a separate world-scale company out of the Russian affiliate is a non-starter. TNK-BP has been a lifeline for BP, boosting its oil output and adding reserves at a time when it was struggling to maintain organic growth and replenish the tank.

TNK-BP's Siberian potential is huge but requires big investment. Meanwhile profits are less impressive because of Russia's aggressive tax on oil exports. Hence, the oligarchs' impatience. They wanted more - either a share in a business with more value or a bigger dividend.

BP is downplaying the significance of the IPO plan. BP has no interest in selling a jot of its investment but an offering of less than a fifth would not create a big enough market to value TNK-BP fairly, the objective of the Russian partners.

The real problem is the overall strategy. Will TNK-BP really be able to continue serving the interests of BP shareholders or must it now do something more expansive and potentially risky. It is unlikely that BP shareholders will welcome the idea that the Siberian oil pump is to be transformed into a new company with ventures all over the place and all manner of distractions. Big oil companies tend to come a cropper when “focus” is lost.

BP may be able to fudge this conflict by ensuring that TNK-BP's dividends are a bit more generous, Russian managers have a bit more status and a few overseas projects are given due attention. That may give the partners enough of what they want and enable them to save face by claiming victory.

But there is the risk that the partners are sincere, that they want a big new oil company.

BP shareholders already own one. Two looks too many and another potential row in the making.

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