BP's (BP.L) planned $18 billion share swap and Arctic exploration agreement with Russia's Rosneft (ROSN.MM) was cast further into doubt on Tuesday after its chief backer Igor Sechin stood down as Rosneft chairman and sources said BP faced a new legal challenge. Deputy Prime Minister Sechin resigned his position after President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the removal of ministers from the boards of state companies as part of his campaign to separate politics and business. BP's tie-up with state-controlled Rosneft (ROSN.MM) is already blocked by a court injunction secured by BP's Russian partners in its TNK-BP (TNBP.MM) venture, and analysts said Sechin's departure could reduce any political pressure on the oligarchs to drop their opposition. "Now the Rosneft chairman has quit, it makes it even less likely the deal will go through," said Dougie Youngson, an oil analyst at Arbuthnot.
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