Exxon Mobil and Russian national oil company Rosneft have signed an agreement to extract oil and gas from the Russian Arctic. According to information posted on Exxon’s website, the deal covers 600,000 square kilometers in the Chukchi, Laptev and Kara Seas.
Significant to Alaska, the deal also provides Rosneft the option of acquiring a 25 percent interest in Exxon’s Point Thomson natural gas and condensate project on the North Slope. Point Thomson is estimated to contain approximately 25 percent of known North Slope gas reserves.
Under the deal the companies will also jointly study the potential for an LNG project in Russian Far East.
The Exxon deal follows a similar arrangement between BP and Rosneft that fell through.
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Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
