OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS) has reached an agreement with Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) to launch a joint bid for Lebanese offshore projects, the chief executive of the Russian state-run oil giant said Wednesday, according to Russian media reports.

"Along with Exxon, we would like to take part in a tender for the Lebanese shelf, we have agreed to work together," Igor Sechin said.

A total of 52 companies from 25 countries have applied to the Lebanese Energy and Water Department. Other major bidders include Russia 's OAO Lukoil Holdings (LKOH.RS) and a combination of OAO Novatek (NVTK.RS) and Gazprombank's GPB Global Resources, as well as Chevron (CVX), Statoil (STL.OS) and Total (FP.FR).

Companies that qualify for the tender will be announced on April 18, the ministry said.

To be able to participate in the tender, operators must prove that they have total assets worth $10 billion. Non-operators must prove they have total assets worth $500 million.

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