Rosneft has signed contracts advancing its strategic cooperation agreement with Statoil to cover projects in Russia and setting up joint ventures under a similar agreement with Eni (OGJ Online, May 7, Apr. 25, 2012).
The new contracts between Rosneft and Statoil provide for the formation of joint ventures between Rosneft JV Projects SA and Statoil Petroleum AS to seek licenses in the Barents Sea offshore Norway in the country’s 22nd bidding round. Rosneft will form a Norwegian subsidiary, which will apply for 33.33% interests in licenses blocks.
Rosneft and Statoil also signed an agreement to jointly evaluate high-viscosity oil beneath the gas cap in Sever-Komsomolsk field in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District of Western Siberia and oil shale deposits in the Khadumsky formation in Stavropol Territory. If development proceeds, the companies will set up an operating company held 66.67% by Rosneft and 33.33% by Statoil. Statoil will pay for desktop study and pilot-phase work including seismic surveys, drilling, testing, pilot production research, and modeling.
The Rosneft-Statoil strategic cooperation agreement, signed on May 5, also covers exploration of blocks in the Russian Barents Sea and Sea of Okhotsk. The companies are still working on structure of that cooperation.
Eni and Rosneft signed their initial agreement, covering joint development of specific licenses in the Black and Barents Seas offshore Russia, on Apr. 25.
The new contracts provide for creation of the joint ventures envisioned by the original agreement, with Rosneft holding 66.67% interests and Eni 33.33%. Eni will pay costs of geological exploration required by license terms and pay its share of license acquisition costs. The Italian company also will reimburse much of the historical exploration expenses on a Black Sea block, Western Chernomorsky.
Rosneft also has formed an upstream partnership with ExxonMobil covering exploration of the Kara and Black Seas and providing the Russian interests or options to acquire interests in West Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, and western Alberta (OGJ Online, Apr. 17, 2012).
