Statoil and Rosneft to ink Arctic oil deal
Norway's Statoil (STL.OL) will drill in Russia's offshore zones with Rosneft (ROSN.MM) in the Russian state company's third Arctic oil deal, to be signed as soon as Saturday, Reuters reports quoting the industry sources.
President-elect Vladimir Putin, who is serving out his final days as prime minister before a May 7 inauguration, is expected to preside over the deal signing on Saturday or shortly after his inauguration on May 7, one of the sources said.
"Rosneft and Statoil have agreed on a joint development of hydrocarbons on Russia's offshore," one of the sources said.
Statoil will be a minority partner with Rosneft in the venture, the sources said, which is modelled on deals struck in the last month with U.S. oil major ExxonMobil (XOM.N) and Italian oil company Eni (ENI.MI).
By striking three big Arctic drilling deals, Putin and his oil tsar, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, secure capital and expertise for a push into some of the world's most promising energy provinces as a legacy of their time in government.
Output from Russia's Soviet-era oil provinces is declining and the country faces high costs and technological challenges at remote new fields to retain its status as the world's top crude oil producer.