Just one month after Russia’s state-owned OAO Rosneft claimed a stake in 20 deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) exploration blocks held by ExxonMobil Corp., the partners said they plan to spend as much as $15 billion to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on Russia’s Pacific Coast that would ship fuel to Asia-Pacific markets. A final investment decision is set for June, and if it’s approved, the plant could begin exporting LNG by 2018, according to Rosneft, which is the world’s largest listed oil producer (see Daily GPI, March 22). Rosneft and ExxonMobil in 2011 struck a cooperation agreement to swap access in Russia’s Arctic offshore and other areas; Rosneft gained access to U.S. and Canadian plays in the onshore and GOM (see Daily GPI, Aug. 31, 2011). Rosneft acquired a 30% interest in the 20 deepwater GOM blocks last month (see Daily GPI, March 13). The partners expanded the strategic agreement in February, which gave Rosneft the option to take a stake in the Point Thomson, AK, gas project (see Daily GPI, Feb. 14). At that time, they signed a memorandum of understanding to study the economic viability of a LNG development in the Russian Far East.

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