The $500 Million Ace Up BP's Sleeve

For the past few years, it would have been awfully hard to find an oil executive who would say "Gee, I wish I was in BP's shoes right now." However, there's one aspect of BP that probably has other oil companies green with envy: BP's vast access to Russian oil and gas.

In a merger deal earlier this year, Russian oil giant Rosneft bought out its largest competitor, TNK-BP. The deal gives BP a 19.75% equity stake in Rosneft, which translates into about $460 million in annual dividends for the company after tax. Not only does the $460 million help to pad the bottom line, but the potential for this deal is even greater.

Tune in to the following video, where fool.com contributor Tyler Crowe goes over what makes this deal so significant and why other oil companies want access to the Russian oil that BP has.

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The article The $500 Million Ace Up BP's Sleeve originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tyler Crowe has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him at Fool.com under the handle TMFDirtyBird, on Google +, or on Twitter: @TylerCroweFool.The Motley Fool recommends Statoil and Total. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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