Russian gas producer OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) said Friday it has agreed on a staff training program with French utility firm GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR), as the two companies prepare for future joint projects.
The deal includes study programs in areas like liquefied natural gas, or LNG, and offshore exploration, Gazprom said.
GDF Suez is in talks with Gazprom to take a 9% stake in the Nord Stream trans-Baltic Sea pipeline project. Russia supplies almost a third of France's gas imports.
GDF Suez was present when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last month met with executives from top foreign energy companies in Russia's northern Yamal Peninsula for talks on exploiting the region's abundant resources.
Gazprom views development of that region as a top priority and says it wants to build a plant to produce LNG there.