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Russia signs first Nigerian oil search deal

MOSCOW: State oil firm Zarubezhneft has recently struck Russia’s first oil deal with OPEC-member Nigeria to explore two offshore blocks in the Gulf of Guinea, the Energy Ministry said on Tuesday.

Russian oil majors are expanding abroad from Iran and Saudi Arabia to Venezuela and Colombia as record revenues from high oil prices allow them to invest in reserves outside Russia.

“We want to help encourage cooperation between Russian firms and countries in equatorial Africa, especially with the regional leader Nigeria,” the ministry quoted Russia’s No. 2 oil official Sergei Oganesyan as saying in a statement.

The statement said an intergovernmental commission had been set up in 2004 and its first concrete result was the signing this year of the first oil deal between Nigeria and Zarubezhneft to explore and develop two offshore blocks.

It did not specify the names of the blocks or other terms. A Zarubezhneft official said the company was talking with Nigerian authorities, but declined further comments.

Nigeria’s oil sector is dominated by major multinational companies. Mid-sized Zarubezhneft has most of its operations offshore Vietnam where it produces around 230,000 barrels per day together with its partner, Vietnam’s state oil firm Petrovietnam. reuters

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