Russian legislation should be adjusted to allow LUKoil to team up with Rosneft on offshore oil projects, LUKoil head Vagit Alekperov said on Thursday.
"We are interested in it. We have held and are continuing our dialog with Rosneft on our participation. Today the difficulty is that the legislation, which allows companies to join shelf projects, limits our participation with just a small stake and the complex procedure for the transfer of licenses. Without license transfer it is very difficult to develop these projects and invest large funds for the long term," Alekperov said.
LUKoil is holding consultations with Rosneft on its possible participation in the project to develop the Val Shatskogo deposit on the Black Sea shelf, which was earlier rejected by U.S. major Chevron Corp, according to media reports.
Alekperov earlier said LUKoil and Rosneft were discussing cooperation in developing two deposits on the Black and Caspian Sea shelves. The companies have to prepare proposals on the deposits by September 1.
Alekperov also said the companies planned to unite their deposits in the oil-rich Timan-Pechora province, where LUKoil has already established the necessary export infrastructure.
On April 21 LUKoil and Rosneft signed an agreement on long-term cooperation between the two companies, under which they are expected to define a list of projects, evaluate their efficiency and work out the mechanisms for cooperation.
Alekperov's comments come just weeks after Rosneft's intended $16 billion share-swap and offshore exploration alliance with British oil giant BP collapsed after BP's local partners in the TNK-BP venture objected to the deal.