Russian oil for China
10 Nov 2006
Rosneft, the Russian state-run oil company and China have agreed to cooperate on oil drilling sales. Rosneft will build petrol stations in China as part of a plan to double its business in Asia.
The scheme is part of a joint venture between Rosneft and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
Rosneft and China will build a joint refinery in China with CNPC. CNPC will also extract crude oil from Russia's Eastern oil fields, while Rosneft will increase its crude exports to China.
At the opening ceremony of Rosneft's Asia Pacific office in Beijing, chief executive Sergei Bogdanchikov said his company would increase the amount of oil it sells to China by around 7 million tonnes to 20 million in 2007.
Russia is seeking to diversify its energy exports away from Europe and is already building two gas pipelines to China.
Bogdanchikov
estimated Rosneft's trade with China and other Asian
states at over $10 billion
