Shell can work with Russian state-run energy giant Rosneft on the same terms as had BP intended to, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
“It can. This partner is quite convenient for us,” Putin told reporters, when asked whether Shell could become Rosneft’s partner on BP’s terms.
Shell already has significant operations in Russia, in its Far Eastern Sakhalin-2 and Sakhalin-3 projects.
In January, Rosneft and BP signed a $16 billion deal to develop the Arctic shelf and exchange shares, but the deal fell through following a dispute with BP’s Russian partners in its TNK-BP local venture.
The deal was signed in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, Russia’s energy tsar and Putin’s close friend. On Wednesday, Sechin met with Shell CEO Peter Vozer to talk about Arctic and Black Sea shelf exploration.
But Putin said BP still had a chance to work with Rosneft.
“Work with BP has not been stopped. Different variants are possible,” he said. When asked whether shelf cooperation was viable, he said: “Yes, why not, including on the shelf.”
NOVO-OGARYOVO, May 27 (RIA Novosti)