BP looks towards Murmansk
Oil company BP shows interest in establishing a base for Arctic operations in Murmansk.
-We are interested in cooperation with companies and authorities in Murmansk, BP Vice President Larry Bates confirmed in a meeting with Speaker of the Murmansk regional Duma Yevgenii Nikora and leader of the Murmanshelf Oil and Gas Association Grigorii Stratii last week.
The BP Vice President highlighted that his company is first of all interested in local services in the field of environmental risk management, as well as rescue and emergency. He also said the BP in interested in considering the establishment of a base for Arctic operations in the region, a press release from the regional Duma reads.
As previously reported, the British oil major in January this year struck a deal with Rosneft, Russia’s oil company No 1, on the exploration and development of three license blocks in an area in the southern Kara Sea, roughly equivalent in size and prospectivity to the British sector of the North Sea.
The agreement is based on mutual shareholdings between the two companies. Rosneft will receive five percent of ordinary voting shares of BP in exchange for 9.5 percent of its shares. However, the deal is disputed both by shareholders in the TNK-BP company as well as by environmentalists.
Read more: Eco-trouble ahead for BP-Rosneft partnership
Murmansk is the world’s biggest city north of the Arctic Circle and aspires for status as Russia’s Arctic capital and national centre for offshore oil and gas activities. With the development of the Shtokman field, the region is likely to boost its role in Russia petroleum affairs.
