BP's direction unchanged by Rosneft deal

LONDON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- The commitment to the U.S. energy market remains strong despite a multibillion-dollar deal with Russian oil company Rosneft, a BP executive said.

BP and Rosneft announced last week they had agreed to jointly explore and develop a 48,263-square-mile area of the Kara Sea on Russia's continental shelf.

BP will hand the Russians nearly $8 billion in shares for a 9.5 percent stake in Rosneft, the companies said in a statement.

BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying the swap didn't represent any substantial shift in his company's direction.

"Our commitment to the U.S. is as strong as ever," he maintained.

BP is saddled with mounting financial obligations related to the sinking of its Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico last year. The deadly accident led to one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of the oil industry.

Jeremy Huck, BP's president of Russian operations, said BP and Rosneft wanted to take what they learn from working in an arctic environment to deposits outside Russia with similar conditions.

Russian is conducting a survey of the arctic continental shelf in order to convince the United Nations its territory extends beyond what's outlined in international agreements.

Warmer temperatures is melting sea ice in the arctic and revealing vast oil and gas reserves previously unreachable.