Rosneft buys Exxon Mobil shares

Russian oil company Rosneft and US energy giant Exxon Mobil will establish two joint ventures to work on Russia's continental shelf under an agreement signed on Monday, RIA-Novosti reports.
The companies will found joint venture firms to work at East Prinovozemelsky Blocks 1, 2 and 3 in the Kara Sea in the Russian Arctic and the Tuapse License Block in the Black Sea. Rosneft will hold 66.7 percent in both joint ventures. Rosneft and Exxon Mobil signed a $3.2 billion agreement to work jointly on these projects last year.
According to the deal, Exxon, which already works with Rosneft on the Sakhalin-1 offshore project in Russia's Far East, will receive access to substantial oil reserves in Russia. Rosneft, which was in search of a partner to provide it with shelf technologies it lacks, will be able to operate on Exxon Mobil's turf in the United States - in the Gulf of Mexico, in Texas and in Canada.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expressed his hope that cooperation between Rosneft and Exxon Mobil will last for dozens of years.