Russian and
US
oil majors Rosneft and ExxonMobil
signed an agreement Thursday to jointly explore the commercial potential of oil
fields in
Western
Siberia
, a
Rosneft press release said Friday.
The two companies will create a joint venture
in which Rosneft will hold 51 percent and ExxonMobil 49 percent, and
exploration work, slated to start in 2013, will cover more than 6,000 square
miles.
The agreement was signed between Rosneft CEO
Igor Sechin and ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson. ExxonMobil will reportedly provide
up to $300 million for the exploration, which will aim to end by 2015, the
press release said.
The majors also signed a declaration on
environmental protection and biological conservation in
Russia
’s Arctic shelf, setting out
measures for safer drilling by Rosneft and its partners.
The agreement is the latest development since
the two oil giants announced their broad cooperation last year in energy
exploration.