Eni SpA (E) has begun seismic operations with OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS) in the Russian part of the Barents Sea, part of a venture to tap the region's vast but hard-to-recover resources.
The work in the Fedynsky and Central Barents license areas will cover 9,950 square kilometers, the Italian energy company said Monday.
The joint project is part of a wider collaboration under an agreement the two companies signed in April 2012.
The Rome-based company has a 33.3% stake in Rosneft's projects in the Arctic, with the state-controlled Russian oil giant holding the remaining 66.7%.