Exxon Mobil, Russian company sign Arctic exploration deals
BY OKLAHOMAN & AP REPORTS
Thursday, February 14, 2013
2/14/13 at 2:36 AM
Exxon Mobil and Russian partner Rosneft have signed an agreement that will give the U.S. company exploration access to an additional 234,000 square miles in the Russian Arctic.
A separate agreement will give OAO Rosneft the opportunity to acquire a 25 percent interest in the Point Thompson unit on Alaska's North Slope.
The companies also said Wednesday they will study a potential liquid natural gas project in the Russian Far East.
The agreements were announced Wednesday on the website of Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp.
Rosneft President Igor Sechin and Stephen Greenlee, president of Exxon Mobil Exploration Co., signed the agreements in Moscow in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The deals will give Exxon exploration access to seven new blocks in the Chukchi Sea, Laptev Sea and Kara Sea.
"The agreements signed today bring the already unprecedented scale of the Rosneft and ExxonMobil partnership up to a completely new level," Sechin said. "The acreage in the Russian Arctic subject to geological exploration and subsequent development increased nearly sixfold."
Point Thomson contains about 25 percent of the known gas resource base in Alaska's North Slope, the companies said.
Associated Images:
Rosneft President Igor Sechin: The agreements bring the "scale of the Rosneft and ExxonMobil partnership up to a completely new level."
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