BP is caught in the crossfire of a growing struggle over the ownership of its Russian oil venture, TNK-BP, as a shareholder in the venture launched a fresh legal action to ban 148 workers seconded from BP from working at the company.

TNK-BP said on Wednesday that a Russian regional court had issued an injunction against the company’s employment of BP specialists after a minority shareholder in the company filed suit against TNK-BP’s service agreement with the BP workers.