Russia's Rosneft, China's CEFC Shake Hands on Joint Oil Exploration in Siberia

Russian oil giant Rosneft said Sunday it had concluded a contract with CEFC China Energy conglomerate for the supply of Russian crude oil to China and signed a cooperation agreement for joint exploration in Siberia.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The companies have reached the agreement at the 9th BRICS summit. The documents were signed by Igor Sechin, Rosneft Chief Executive Officer, and Chan Chauto, CEFC China President, according to the statement from the Russian corporation.

According to Rosneft, the strategic cooperation agreement foresees the development of joint exploration and production projects in eastern and western Siberia and provides for a joint activity in refining, petrochemicals, crude and product trading areas.

Meanwhile, the contract for the supply of crude oil is expected to "lead to an increase in direct supplies of crude oil to the strategic Chinese market and ensure a guaranteed cost-efficient export channel for the Company's crude sales," the Russian energy company pointed out.

On July 4, Rosneft and CEFC China signed a strategic cooperation agreement during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia.