BP has been forced to take a backseat in its drive to expand its Russian operation after its joint venture partner Rosneft confirmed it was to explore for oil in Western Siberia with US rival ExxonMobil.
The deal will see the two oil giants develop prospects in the oil rich Bazhenov and Achimov areas.
BP has previously expressed an interest in drilling for the huge oil reserves in the area.
The region is thought to have greater prospects for “tight oil” development, a similar process to extracting shale oil, than the USA.
Rex Tillerson, chief executive of ExxonMobil said: “The strategic combination of Rosneft's operational experience in the area and ExxonMobil's advanced technology gains from tight oil experience in North America and elsewhere provides a strong capability to fully evaluate and potentially develop this large tight oil resource.”
The deal follows an agreement between Exxon and Rosneft signed in August last year to develop oil prospects in Siberia, the Black Sea and the South Kara Sea.
Although as a shareholder in Rosneft BP will benefit from any profits that accrue to the Russian group, it appears the UK oil major has been frozen out of direct involvement in the tight oil project.
In a statement Rosneft president Igor Sechin said: “Maximising production efficiency at every field and exploring new technologies to exploit the potential of tight reservoirs is a strategic priority for Rosneft.
“I am certain that our experience and infrastructure in Western Siberia, coupled with the state-of-the-art technologies of our partner ExxonMobil, will allow us to begin developing large tight oil reserves.”
Under the agreement the two companies plan to start exploratory drilling next year across Rosneft’s 23 licence blocks.
Rosneft will provide staff and access to infrastructure while Exxon will provide specialists in tight oil production along with financing of up to $300m. A spokesman for BP said: “BP stands to benefit from any success that those venture may have. “
telegraph.co.uk
The deal will see the two oil giants develop prospects in the oil rich Bazhenov and Achimov areas.
BP has previously expressed an interest in drilling for the huge oil reserves in the area.
The region is thought to have greater prospects for “tight oil” development, a similar process to extracting shale oil, than the USA.
Rex Tillerson, chief executive of ExxonMobil said: “The strategic combination of Rosneft's operational experience in the area and ExxonMobil's advanced technology gains from tight oil experience in North America and elsewhere provides a strong capability to fully evaluate and potentially develop this large tight oil resource.”
The deal follows an agreement between Exxon and Rosneft signed in August last year to develop oil prospects in Siberia, the Black Sea and the South Kara Sea.
Although as a shareholder in Rosneft BP will benefit from any profits that accrue to the Russian group, it appears the UK oil major has been frozen out of direct involvement in the tight oil project.
In a statement Rosneft president Igor Sechin said: “Maximising production efficiency at every field and exploring new technologies to exploit the potential of tight reservoirs is a strategic priority for Rosneft.
“I am certain that our experience and infrastructure in Western Siberia, coupled with the state-of-the-art technologies of our partner ExxonMobil, will allow us to begin developing large tight oil reserves.”
Under the agreement the two companies plan to start exploratory drilling next year across Rosneft’s 23 licence blocks.
Rosneft will provide staff and access to infrastructure while Exxon will provide specialists in tight oil production along with financing of up to $300m. A spokesman for BP said: “BP stands to benefit from any success that those venture may have. “
telegraph.co.uk
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