Rosneft and ExxonMobil have agreed to expand their cooperation under their 2011 Strategic Cooperation Agreement to include approximately additional 600,000 km² of exploration acreage in the Russian Arctic, and potential participation by Rosneft in the Point Thomson project in Alaska. They have also agreed to conduct a joint study on a potential LNG project in the Russian Far East.
The license blocks include Severo-Vrangelevsky-1, Severo-Vrangelevsky-2 and Yuzhno-Chukotsky blocks in Chukchi Sea, Ust’ Oleneksky, Ust’ Lensky and Anisinsko-Novosibirsky blocks in Laptev Sea and Severo-Karsky block in Kara Sea, which are among the most promising and least explored offshore areas globally.
A separate Heads of Agreement was signed providing Rosneft (or its affiliate) with an opportunity to acquire a 25% interest in the Point Thomson Unit which covers the project of developing a remote natural gas and condensate field on Alaska’s North Slope. It is estimated that Point Thomson contains approximately 25% of the known gas resource base in Alaska’s North Slope.