LUKOIL pulls out of talks with Rosneft

Lukoil has discontinued negotiations with Rosneft over cooperation to tap offshore deposits because the companies failed to agree on mutually beneficial projects, RBC News reports quoting Lukoil's head. President of OAO Lukoil Vagit Alekperov said that his company is interested in developing offshore deposits.

In May 2012, Lukoil and Rosneft set up a working group to consider the feasibility of joint offshore projects. Lukoil was interested in Rosneft's blocks in the Black Sea and the Barents Sea. Under the Russian legislation, only state-controlled Rosneft and Gazprom are eligible to obtain licenses for offshore deposits. Rosneft, which received the biggest number of such licenses, plans to team up with ExxonMobil, Eni, and Statoil. It also made offers to domestic oil producers Surgutneftegaz, TNK-BP, Bashneft, and Lukoil to jointly tap offshore fields.