Rosneft and ExxonMobil Sign Agreement for Western Siberia Tight Oil Pilot Project
Rosneft and ExxonMobil
today signed a Pilot Development Agreement establishing a joint project
to assess the possibility of commercial production of tight oil reserves
at the Bazhenov and Achimov formations in Western Siberia.
The agreement was signed by Igor Sechin, president and chairman of the
management board at Rosneft, and Stephen Greenlee, president of
ExxonMobil Exploration Company. Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief
executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), was present for
the signing, as well as the senior management of both companies.
The document is another step towards implementation of the long-term
strategic cooperation agreement the companies signed in August 2011.
The companies will set up a joint venture to run a pilot program and
potential commercial production with equity interests of 51 percent for
Rosneft and 49 percent for ExxonMobil. Work will be carried out at
Rosneft′s 23 license blocks covering a total area more than 10,000
square kilometers.
Rosneft and its production subsidiaries will provide staff and access to
existing infrastructure.
ExxonMobil will provide financing of up to $300 million for the pilot
program, as well as state-of-the-art technologies and specialists in
geology, development and well engineering and completion. ExxonMobil
will also provide production management services for drilling complex
horizontal wells so as to evaluate and commercially develop these tight
oil reserves.
The pilot program will encompass broad-reaching work across a number of
areas, including drilling new horizontal and vertical wells using the
latest fracturing technologies, deepening existing wells and
re-development of idle wells. The companies also plan to run an advanced
core survey program that will include geomechanical surveys. Drilling
will begin in 2013.
Upon completion of the pilot program, Rosneft and ExxonMobil will
jointly select blocks for commercial development in 2015. The two
companies will draw on their technical and production experience to
ensure commercially viable development and potential production growth
in Russia′s West Siberian basin.
'Maximizing production efficiency at every field and exploring new
technologies to exploit the potential of tight reservoirs is a strategic
priority for Rosneft,? said Sechin. 'I am certain that our experience
and infrastructure in Western Siberia, coupled with the state-of-the-art
technologies of our partner ExxonMobil, will allow us to begin
developing large tight oil reserves.?
Tillerson said ExxonMobil would use experience gained in North America
resource development.
'The strategic combination of Rosneft′s operational experience in the
area and ExxonMobil′s advanced technology gains from tight oil
experience in North America and elsewhere provides a strong capability
to fully evaluate and potentially develop this large tight oil
resource,? said Tillerson.
CAUTIONARY NOTE:
Statements that reference future events or conditions in this press
release are forward-looking statements. In the future, the actual
results, including project plans, costs and benefits and production
volumes realized by the parties as a result of this agreement, may
differ significantly from the forecasts, depending on the actions of
governmental authorities or regulatory agencies, including possible
changes in the law; the results of exploration programs; changes in oil
or gas prices and other market or economic factors that affect the
petroleum industry; the development of new technologies; other technical
and operational factors; the actions of competitors, and other factors
listed under the heading 'Factors Affecting Future Results? on the
Investor page at the ExxonMobil website at www.exxonmobil.com.
Additional information about Rosneft is available on its website at www.rosneft.com.
About ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil,
the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses
technology and innovation to help meet the world′s growing energy needs.
ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is the
largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products, and its chemical
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at www.twitter.com/exxonmobil.
ExxonMobil
Media Relations, 972-444?1107
or
Rosneft
Information Division
Tel.: +7 (495) 411 54 20/+7 (985) 762 6383
Fax:
+7 (495) 411 54 21
