Statoil and Rosneft move to implement strategic cooperation agreement; Barents Sea and onshore Russia

21 June 2012

Statoil and Rosneft signed agreements on joint bidding for exploration licenses in the Norwegian Barents Sea and on Joint Technical Evaluation covering two Russian onshore assets. This concludes the first implementation agreements envisaged in the strategic cooperation that the two companies entered into on 5 May, 2012. (Earlier post.)

The agreement on exploration cooperation identifies an Area of Mutual Interest in the Norwegian Barents Sea for the 22^nd Licensing Round. Statoil and Rosneft also agree to evaluate joint bidding in subsequent licensing rounds in the Norwegian Barents Sea.

Following the execution of this agreement, Rosneft will initiate the process to become pre-qualified as licensee on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The Joint Technical Evaluation Agreement covers shale oil deposits at the Khadumsky formation in the Stavropol territory and highly viscous oil located below the gas cap at the Severo-Komsomolsky field in the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district.

If the parties see development of these fields as commercially viable they will set up an operating company with Rosneft and Statoil holding respectively 66.67% and 33.33% equity stakes. Statoil will cover all agreed expenditures of the technical studies, including seismic surveying and drilling of vertical and horizontal wells.

Following the signing of the agreements today, Statoil and Rosneft will now focus on how to structure the cooperation to explore the Perseevsky license block in the Russian Barents Sea and three blocks in the Sea of Okhotsk, namely Magadan 1, Lisyansky and Kashevarovsky.

The strategic cooperation agreement also envisages the acquisition by Rosneft of interests in selected Statoil international projects.