Support The Moscow Times!

ExxonMobil Lauds Rosneft Partnership

VLADIVOSTOK — The head of ExxonMobil held up a partnership with Rosneft as a model for the rest of the world on Thursday.

ExxonMobil's Rex Tillerson, flanked by Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, was the first foreign CEO to greet Putin ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held in the seaport of Vladivostok, nine hours by plane east of Moscow.

In April, ExxonMobil and Rosneft unveiled an offshore exploration partnership that could invest up to $500 billion in developing Russia's vast energy reserves in the Arctic and Black seas.

Under the deal Exxon and Rosneft will seek to develop three fields in the Arctic with recoverable hydrocarbon reserves estimated at 85 billion barrels in oil-equivalent terms.

"For the world, the political leadership, policy partnerships that have made our relationship possible serve as a model for illuminating the path to a better future," Tillerson told Putin during a presentation.

"For Russia this relationship is already bearing fruit in terms of new investment, innovations, new possibilities," Tillerson said.

He said ExxonMobil and Rosneft would work in "challenging circumstances" seeking to meet the growing global energy demand, which he expects to grow by 30 percent by 2040.

Tillerson said seismic studies at the Arctic Kara Sea oil exploration project with Rosneft were ahead of schedule and he expected drilling to commence in 2014-15.

"With this data on the Kara Sea in hand and analyzed we expect the drilling of an exploration well in the 2014-15 time frame," he said.

Putin, who has repeatedly said that increased trade and closer economic ties were key to improving the broader relationship with the U.S., listened carefully, asking in the end how ExxonMobil would ship oil extracted in the Kara Sea.

Related articles:

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more