Rosneft,Exxon to develop joint operations plan

Russian oil major Rosneft and U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil will develop a detailed plan of joint projects by the end of the year, Rosneft head Eduard Khudainatov said on Tuesday."A working group of Rosneft and ExxonMobil is drawing up a detailed plan of joint projects and will complete the specifics by the end of the year," Khudainatov told journalists.Rosneft and ExxonMobil recently signed a $3.2 billion agreement to explore East Prinovozemelsky Blocks 1, 2 and 3 in the Kara Sea in the Russian Arctic and the Tuapse License Block in the Black Sea. Rosneft will hold 66.7 percent in both joint ventures.The pact gives Exxon, which is already partnering with Rosneft on the Sakhalin-1 offshore project in Russia's Far East, access to substantial reserves in Russia, the world's top oil producer. Rosneft, which was looking for a partner to provide it with shelf technologies it lacks, will be now able to operate on ExxonMobil's turf in the United States - in the Gulf of Mexico and Texas, as well as in third countries.Khudainatov also said that Rosneft was in talks on development of the Val Shatsky deposit in the Black Sea with ExxonMobil and one other company.