Rosneft announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Japan's Inpex Corporation to jointly explore offshore license blocks Magadan-2 and Magadan-3 in the Russian zone of the Sea of Okhotsk in the Russian Far East.
Rosneft believes that the two blocks contain estimated recoverable resources of almost 11.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The agreement will see the two firms set up a joint venture, in which Inpex will hold a one-third stake.
Inpex will fully finance geological exploration work at these blocks in line with approved programs. Inpex has also agreed to reimburse the development expenses incurred by Rosneft at the licensed blocks, as well as 33.3 percent of a one-off payment made by the Russian company during the course of license acquisition. Furthermore, the agreement provides for non-recurrent bonuses to be paid by Inpex to Rosneft for each commercial oil and gas discovery proportionally with its stake in the project.
Commenting on the agreement, Rosneft President Igor Sechin said in a statement:
"The Russian Far East is one of the key regions of Rosneft's operation. Signing the agreement with Inpex – one of the leading Japanese oil and gas companies – once again proves Rosneft's commitment to developing its business in the region. Partnership between Rosneft and Inpex will contribute significantly not only to the development of the Russian Far East, but also to the development of economic relations between Russia and Japan, and will strengthen energy security of our partners."
