Rosneft Takes Stake in Exxon Offshore Blocks

Russia's state-controlled oil firm OAO Rosneft has acquired a 30% stake in 20 deepwater exploration blocks in the Gulf of Mexico held by Exxon Mobil Corp., a further expansion of the companies' budding alliance.

No financial terms were given in a Rosneft statement announcing the deal Thursday. Analysis of seismic data is underway at the blocks, where production is yet to start, Rosneft said.

Rosneft and Exxon formed an alliance in 2011 to develop potentially huge but largely untapped reserves on Russia's Arctic shelf and shale oil in Western Siberia.

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Source: http://www.marketwatch.com