Crescent Petroleum, the Middle East’s longest established private petroleum company, has today announced the signing of a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Rosneft Oil Company, Russia’s leading oil producer and marketer of hydrocarbon products. The Agreement was signed in Moscow between Badr Jafar, executive director of Crescent Petroleum Group, and Sergey Bogdanchikov, President of Rosneft Oil Company. Also present at the signing was H.E. Omar Ghobash, UAE Ambassador to the Russian Federation and other dignitaries.
This Agreement creates the framework for the joint pursuit of specific oil and gas exploration and development opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa region. Access to material and high quality new upstream projects will be facilitated by combining Rosneft’s Russian petroleum industry experience, financial strength and technical capabilities alongside Crescent Petroleum’s extensive international operating experience and unique access within the Middle East and North Africa region. This Cooperation Agreement creates a groundbreaking energy partnership between Russia and the Middle East, the world’s two largest oil and gas producing regions.
“It gives us great pleasure to enter into this Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Rosneft, Russia’s leading oil company, as the beginning of a long-term, fruitful relationship between our two companies which will also greatly benefit the economies of the Middle East and North Africa Region,”said Crescent Petroleum executive director, Badr Jafar.
Rosneft President, Sergey Bogdanchikov added: “We are happy to have entered into this partnership with Crescent Petroleum. This is a proud moment for the shareholders and management of Rosneft which will now create a foothold in one of the world’s most prolific hydrocarbon producing territories.”
In a sign that additional Russian-Middle Eastern deals were on the table, the UAE ambassador added that more cooperation was likely.
“This important agreement comes in the wake of a series of high level contacts between the UAE and Russia over the last 18 months. We look forward to replicating such cooperation in other fields in the near future. The Crescent Petroleum and Rosneft deal is an excellent example of how we can strengthen economic ties in a rapidly changing world,” said H.E. Omar Ghobash.
Both Crescent Petroleum and Rosneft have identified the need for significant investment in specific oil and gas projects to ensure that MENA continues to maintain its pre-eminent position as a major energy supplier to the world. This relationship promises to lay the groundwork for a greater level of cooperation in the MENA region’s energy sector and the combined focus areas of both companies will also allow for a wider range of long term projects that are to be jointly undertaken as a result of this Agreement. Rosneft and Crescent are already actively pursuing material joint investment opportunities in the region which are expected to be announced in the coming months.
