Rosneft and Exxon mobilize $3.2 billion as first step
On April 2012, Rosneft and ExxonMobil signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement to jointly explore and develop oil and gas fields in the Russian Black Sea and Kara Sea.
This Strategic Agreement is supported by the:
- Opportunity given to Rosneft to take stakes in ExxonMobil oil and gas projects in North America.
- New tax approach proposed by the Russia Government to motivate Arctic offshore exploration and production.
Through this Strategic Agreement Rosneft and ExxonMobil have mobilized $3.2 billion for capital expenditure for preliminary exploration.
In addition Rosneft will take:
- 30% equity in ExxonMobil La Escalara Ranch project in the Delaware Basin in western Texas, USA
- 30% working interests in 20 blocks owned by ExxonMobil in Gulf of Mexico.
- 30% of ExxonMobil‘s stake in Harmattan acreage in the Cardium formation of unconventional oil in Alberta, Canada.
This co-operation in Alberta unconventional oil is also intended to build experience for Rosneft for future developments of tight oil in western Siberia.
Under the frame of this Strategic Agreement, Rosneft and ExxonMobil will also set up cross teams functions in geology, geoscience, field development, well drilling and all other aspects of the upstream activities in order to enrich mutual experiences and career opportunities.
This program will be supported by the Arctic Research and Design Center for Offshore Developments regarding Safety, good practice and environmental aspects.
Rosneft and ExxonMobil to call for Arctic rigs tenders
Rosneft and ExxonMobil estimate that in the Kara Sea alone, there is a deposit of around 85 billion barrels of oil, scattered throughout some 23 different areas.
In that purpose, they are working on a call for tender for the engineering, design and construction oil and gas drilling rigs that would facilitate the exploration of the Arctic shelf.
With this call for tender, Rosneft and ExxonMobil are proceeding to the pre-qualification of the companies to be involved.
The goal is to build an arctic class ice resistant platform that should be used for appraisal and exploring drilling operations.
Rosneft and ExxonMobil are considering a concept around a gravity-based structure capable of drilling all year round in harsh conditions such as in Kara Sea.
This area is located beyond the Arctic circle where the sea is frozen more than 6 months a year.
The decision to organize this global call for tender was made after a negative answer from the Russian United Shipbuilding Corporation to design and build a super sized drilling rig capable to withstand ice pressure in Arctic conditions.
Anyway, Russia expects the contenders to reply in considering a large portion of local content, especially for the construction of the concrete hull for which the dry dock in Nakhodka is already pre-booked.
According to the Strategic Agreement, Rosneft and ExxonMobil are planning to start drilling campaign in 2015.
Then Rosneft and ExxonMobil will make the final investment decision (FID) for three blocks of the East Prinovozemelsky in the Kara Sea in 2016 and 2017.
Few months after signing this Strategic Cooperation Agreement for an unprecedented offshore exploration and development program in the Arctic and Black Seas, Rosneft and ExxonMobil take Market Leadership as moving first to design a new platform to “drill as usual” in one of the harshest and most sensitive region of the world.
