Rosneft and ExxonMobil have agreed to expand their cooperation under
their 2011 Strategic Cooperation Agreement to include approximately
additional 600,000 square kilometers (150 million acres) of exploration
acreage in the Russian Arctic, and potential participation by Rosneft
(or its affiliate) in the Point Thomson project in Alaska. They have
also agreed to conduct a joint study on a potential LNG project in the
Russian Far East.
The agreements, which include plans to explore seven new blocks in the
Chukchi Sea, Laptev Sea and Kara Sea, were signed by Igor Sechin,
president of Rosneft and Stephen Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil
Exploration Company, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir
Putin.
The license blocks include Severo-Vrangelevsky-1, Severo-Vrangelevsky-2
and Yuzhno-Chukotsky blocks in Chukchi Sea, Ust’ Oleneksky, Ust’ Lensky
and Anisinsko-Novosibirsky blocks in Laptev Sea and Severo-Karsky block
in Kara Sea, which are among the most promising and least explored
offshore areas globally.
A separate Heads of Agreement was signed providing Rosneft (or its
affiliate) with an opportunity to acquire a 25 percent interest in the
Point Thomson Unit which covers the project of developing a remote
natural gas and condensate field on Alaska’s North Slope. It is
estimated that Point Thomson contains approximately 25 percent of the
known gas resource base in Alaska’s North Slope.
Rosneft and ExxonMobil also executed a Memorandum of Understanding to
jointly study the economic viability of an LNG development in the
Russian Far East, including the possible construction of an LNG
facility. The companies will form a joint working group which is
expected to commence work in the coming weeks to study the viability of
an LNG project using available natural gas resources.
Commenting on the agreements signed, Igor Sechin said, “The agreements
signed today bring the already unprecedented scale of Rosneft and
ExxonMobil partnership to a completely new level. The acreage in the
Russian Arctic subject to geological exploration and subsequent
development increased nearly six-fold. That means the enormous resource
potential of Russian Arctic offshore fields will be explored and
developed in the most efficient manner with the application of
cutting-edge technologies and expertise of our strategic partner,
ExxonMobil, using state-of-the-art environmental protection systems.
Participation in the Point Thomson project will increase Rosneft’s
access to the latest gas and condensate field development technologies
used in harsh climatic conditions”.
Greenlee said the agreement builds on the ongoing successful cooperation between the companies.
“This expansion is an illustration of the strength of the partnership
that exists between ExxonMobil and Rosneft,” said Greenlee. “We look
forward to working together on these new projects.”
The companies are committed to using global best practices and
state-of-the-art safety and environmental protection systems for the
Arctic operations. The work will be supported by the recently signed
Declaration on the Russian Arctic Shelf Environmental protection. Also,
ExxonMobil and Rosneft will work together through an Arctic Research
Center to provide a full range of research and design services to
support their cooperation on Arctic projects.
Rosneft and ExxonMobil continue to implement a program of staff
exchanges of technical and management employees to help strengthen
relationships between the companies.
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