At the time, no-one told me personally or Rosneft about any mutual obligations to TNK-BP.
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Oil production is flat to declining for companies like Rosneft and Lukoil.
The following month, Rosneft struck a deal with CNPC, giving it access to Arctic resources.
Indeed, the core reason why Rosneft wanted to regain TNK-BP assets was precisely for brownfield sites.
The BP-Rosneft deal is a partnership to explore the Arctic region for possible reserves of oil.
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Indeed on May 18th Rosneft admitted that talks with BP and AAR could resume.
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Petersburg, which will be staffed by Rosneft and ExxonMobil employees, Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported.
Rosneft will own 66.7% and Exxon Mobil 33.3% of a joint venture to develop the blocks.
"You should see the map of TNK and Rosneft assets, " Mr. Dudley tells me.
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He is tipped for a leading role after the forthcoming merger of Rosneft with Gazprom.
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Rosneft is a brazen example of Mr Putin's crony state capitalism (see article).
Yet the same two western firms pulled out of rival consortiums bidding for Rosneft.
As I said earlier, the multi-faceted deal between BP, the billionaire oligarchs and Rosneft isn't dead yet.
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Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin left his prestigious chairman post at oil major Rosneft on April 11.
Those distinctly Russian advantages persuaded enough investors that, for all its risks, Rosneft was worth a punt.
According to other reports, Rosneft has been sounding out US banks for loans to finance the deal.
Rosneft would be able to tap into BP's expertise in exploring in difficult and potentially hazardous conditions.
The acquisition of Yuganskneftegaz, meanwhile, has derailed plans to merge Rosneft with Gazprom, the state-controlled gas giant.
Rosneft would still want a share swap as part of its ambition to become a global oil company.
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Rudloff, for example, acts as vice-chair of Russia's state controlled oil giant Rosneft alongside his chairmanship of BarCap.
It said Rosneft had also carried out a study focused on nuclear waste disposal in the Kara Sea.
The British supermajor could not convince its partners in another Russian venture with TNK to approve the Rosneft deal.
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Now we know: Rosneft is buying the whole thing, in a two-part deal.
In Russia in 2010 Chevron signed an exploration deal with Kremlin-controlled Rosneft to explore in the Black Sea region.
His appointment as Rosneft's chairman in 2004 sealed the transfer of Yukos's assets.
Russia is probably out of the question, after Chevron backed away from a JV with Rosneft a year ago.
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Exxon Mobil and Russia's Rosneft in April signed a landmark deal to jointly develop the Arctic's rich untapped reserves.
Rosneft, meanwhile, now has a stronger claim to what is left of Yukos.
It subsequently ended up in the hands of Rosneft, a state-owned oil firm.
Buying a stake will allow oil companies to add their share of Rosneft's oil and gas to their books immediately.
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