Shell, Rosneft in talks for Russian arctic

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, June 1 (UPI) -- Royal Dutch Shell said Russian oil company Rosneft was interested in jointly exploring the hydrocarbon potential in Russia's arctic waters.

Shell Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser said following talks with Rosneft last week that both could look at "a multitude" of opportunities in the Russian arctic. Some of the blocs included in the talks had been set aside by Rosneft for British energy company BP, the Financial Times reports.

A proposed $16 billion deal between Rosneft and BP from January collapsed last month after TNK-BP, a joint venture between BP and four Russian billionaires, interrupted the measure after claiming it violated the shareholder agreement with its British counterparts.

Voser was quoted as saying it was still "too early to say" what would happen with any future Rosneft partnership, however.

Rosneft and Shell under the terms of a 2007 agreement could outline individual projects in the arctic. Shell said it wasn't interested in an asset swap, however.

Rosneft in May had said negotiations between the Russian billionaires and BP resulted in the company receiving proposals that went "beyond the scope" of the original January proposal.