Paris, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - A joint venture being formed by Russia's two major oil companies, Gazprom Neft [RTS: SIBN] and LUKoil [LKOH], plans to develop new fields in East Siberia and the Timano-Pechora region in northern European Russia, LUKoil's vice president said Wednesday.
The companies signed a memorandum of understanding last week to set up a joint venture to carry out joint oil and gas projects to obtain mineral licenses and conduct geological prospecting on licensed areas in Russia. LUKoil will control 49% in the joint venture and Gazprom Neft the remaining 51%, and they will share control of the company.
"We are interested in what is profitable," Dzhevan Cheloyants told journalists on the sidelines of an oil and gas forum in Paris without specifying the fields to be developed.
In March 2005, LUKoil and Gazprom Neft signed a general agreement on strategic partnership for 2005-2014 following a series of partnership deals between LUKoil and Gazprom, the parent company of Gazprom Neft.
