Speaking to journalists this week, Rosneft President Eduard Khudaynatov said that the mapping of the two companies’ three joint blocks in the Kara Sea will start in two years, newspaper Vedomosti reports.
-Another two years, two seasons, will pass before we can start the seismic works, he said. –In the Arctic it is still early, we first need to make the environmental preparations for the activities, he added.
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As reported by BarentsObserver, Rosneft and ExxonMobile on 30th of August this year signed an agreement on joint exploration and production in the Kara Sea.
Read also: Rosneft picks ExxonMobil in Arctic deal
The agreement between the two companies includes 3.2 billion USD to be spent on the mapping of blocks in the Kara Sea and the Black Sea. The American company will take on most the expenses and will in return get a 33 percent stake in the joint venture.
Rosneft’s Board of Directors has later approved a deal with company subsidiary SakhalinNIPImorneft, according to which three blocks in the Kara Sea and one block in the Barents Sea will be mapped.
As BarentsObserver previously reported, Norway this summer started seismic mapping of its share of the newly delineated Barents Sea. Russia is reported to start seismic studies on its side of the border in 2012.
Read also: Norway one seismic year ahead of Russia
