Investors can no longer afford to ignore geopolitical risk

WEEKS after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the oil and gas industry turned out in force at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, billed as Russia's Davos. "We have a responsibility to stand with our partners in difficult times," said then-boss Bob Dudley as BP signed a deal with Russian state-owned Rosneft.

Total's then-CEO Christophe de Margerie, who died in a plane crash that year, summed up the mood in 2014: "We are involved in business; we are not involved in politics."

This is a line that companies often deploy when trying to shut down a conversation they don't want to have. And it is one that has been rolled out in recent weeks by BP as concerns grew about its 20 per cent stake in Rosneft. Last week, under pressure in the aftermath of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, BP said it would exit the country.