Russia's major oil company 'Rosneft' and British oil giant 'British Petroleum' agreed on joint shelf projects in Russia and other states, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday, RIA Novosti reports
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"I know that your company and one of Russia's top oil firms, Rosneft, have reached serious agreements on joint shelf projects in Russia and third countries," Putin told BP management.
"The Russian government intends to create most favorable tax and administrative regime to develop the project."
Currently, Rosneft and BP jointly develop the Sakhalin shelf in Russia's Far East.
In 2006, the companies signed a memorandum to develop the Arctic shelf. However, they have not developed any projects there.
Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway are seeking to assert jurisdiction over parts of the Arctic, which is believed to contain rich oil and gas deposits. The vast hydrocarbon deposits will become more accessible as rising global temperatures lead to a reduction in sea ice.
Easier access to untapped natural resources of the Arctic will inevitably lead to the construction of dozens of new pipelines and require well-coordinated monitoring of oil and gas exploration in the region.
Russian experts estimate recoverable oil and gas resources on the continental shelf at 100 billion tons of reference fuel.
