OAO Rosneft said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with China National Petroleum Corp for the purchase of a 49% stake in the Russian firm's venture in East Siberia. Rosneft told Bloomberg that the venture would be based on its fully-owned Taas Yuriakh unit. In a presentation held in March, the Russian firm said the unit would produce up to 6 million metric tons of oil in 2016. This year, the unit produced 1 million tons.
In a statement, Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said, "The agreements reached prove once again that Rosneft has a sufficient resource base to meet its strategic goals. The participation of our long-term partner in exploration and production activities will help speed up the start of production at Taas and will facilitate the expansion of cooperation with CNPC in other areas."
In June, Rosneft also agreed to a USD 270 billion oil supply deal with CNPC for a term of 25 years. The agreement was made in St. Petersburg in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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