OREANDA-NEWS. June 24, 2013. Rosneft and General Electric signed a Strategic cooperation agreement during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. The Agreement was signed by Igor Sechin, Rosneft President and Chairman of the Management Board, and Jeffrey Immelt, GE Chairman and CEO, [in the presence of the Russian President Vladimir Putin].

The Agreement will leverage GE technologies and equipment to improve the production efficiency and yields of Rosneft upstream & downstream assets as well as provide for a series of joint ventures to develop, manufacture, and sell new cutting edge technologies and equipment in Russia for use in the oil and gas industry.

These ventures will be joint initiatives focused on four key Rosneft business activities which include gas monetization (LNG, CNG and GTL), offshore developments including the arctic, artificial lift production equipment, and refining & petrochemicals.

Moreover, GE and Rosneft will undertake activities to establish in Moscow a joint Application Engineering and Training Center as well as a joint Research and Development (R&D) Center. The R&D Center will be dedicated to driving innovation and technological advancements in the oil and gas sectors and to bring products to market faster in Russia. This center will initially focus on offshore arctic, new technologies for gas and oil processing, including gas-to-liquid (GTL), equipment for increasing production of hard-to-recover reserves, polymers and polymer composite materials, and synthetic bio-fuels for next generation aircraft vehicles.

In support of the goals of strategic partnership, the parties also signed a separate contract for GE to supply two 75-megawatt 6F 3-series gas turbines with minimal emissions level for Rosneft’s largest production project at its Vankor oilfield in Siberia. The two 6F 3-series gas turbines will be manufactured at a factory that is operated by a joint venture of GE, INTER RAO UES Group and United Engine Corporation.

Commenting on the signing, Igor Sechin said: “Efficient and environmentally safe growth of oil and gas production is only possible provided that the latest technologies are used in the industry. We are convinced that the initiatives we intend to develop jointly with GE as part of our Strategic Cooperation agreement will contribute to the most efficient development of Rosneft fields both onshore and offshore with the use of the latest state-of-the-art technologies, including those localized in Russia. We are pleased to secure cooperation with GE – one of the world leaders in developing and manufacturing of equipment for oil and gas industry”.

Jeff Immelt said: “GE is proud to collaborate with Rosneft, the world’s biggest public oil company, and help continue efforts to modernize its industrial infrastructure. GE is committed to delivering to our customers local and leading-edge technological solutions that drive productivity and growth and, in Rosneft we have a strong partner. We are confident that GE’s participation in the large-scale projects, such as arctic offshore field development will help development of Russia’s oil and gas industry.”