Russian state-run oil major Rosneft has picked Italy’s Eni to jointly develop Black and Barents Sea offshore deposits, following a strategic partnership agreement signed by the companies on Wednesday.
The deal was signed by Rosneft President Eduard Khudainatov and Eni Board Chairman Paolo Scaroni in the presence of Russian Prime Minister and President-elect Vladimir Putin.
Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly develop the Val Shatskogo deposit in the Black Sea and the Fedynsky and Cental Barents blocks in the Barents Sea.
Eni will have a 33.3 percent share in the joint venture. The Italian company will finance geological prospecting of the offshore deposits with recoverable reserves estimated at 36 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Rosneft will also participate in Eni’s international projects as part of the strategic partnership deal.
The companies’ investment in geological prospecting in the Barents and Black Sea will total $2 billion, Khudainatov said.
Scaroni said the two companies would also discuss in May a list of joint projects in third countries.
The Fedynsky block in the Barents Sea includes nine deposits with recoverable hydrocarbon reserves of 18.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent and the Central Barents block comprises three deposits with hydrocarbon reserves of 7 billion barrels of oil equivalent, according to briefing documents prepared for the signing ceremony.
The West Chernomorsky (Val Shatskogo) block includes six fields with recoverable reserves of about 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.