Axis to drill for Oil off US coastline

[falcon]

Shouldn't We Drill U.S. Oil Before China Does?
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
By John Gibson
This is how stupid our oil situation is getting.

China is going to be pumping oil out of the Gulf of Mexico — at the same time the United States cannot.

What? How's that again?

Here's how it works, information courtesy Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho who made a speech on the House floor about this Wednesday.

China is bidding on, and will win, rights to explore oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico, which are offered for development by Cuba.

By the way, Mexico just hit a huge offshore oil find in the Gulf of Mexico and expects to be frolicking in oil cash as a result.

The United States will not be participating in these hot, new finds because offshore of Florida is off limits to oil exploration.

Why is that?

Because enviros have managed to put such a stranglehold on Florida that even Gov. Jeb Bush is calling his brother, President George Bush, to say, "Just say no to oil off Florida."

We have to save the everglades, the keys, the bone fishing, the manatee, the whatever.

We certainly cannot give up precious environmental resources just to make certain someone gets another day of oil for their big, fat, piggish SUV and its oil-sucking V8 engine and it's bottomless tub of a gas tank.

So, the end result? We're paying through the nose for gas. Oil hit through the roof. Cuba is exploiting the situation. China is cashing in. Mexico is singing, "Happy days are here again." And the U.S. will be buying oil from those guys while forsaking its own untapped Florida oil fields.

This same thing is happening offshore in California and in Alaska, ANWR in particular.

I've always said this makes no sense. The United States enforces the strictest oil production environmental regulations in the world. And for what? So we can say to the oil companies: "Don't worry, you won't have to obey these regulations anyway because we're not going to let you drill here. Instead, go drill in Azerbaijan and Nigeria where you will have to obey virtually no regulations at all."

If you're a real environmentalist, don't you want oil development in places where real environmental regulations will be enforced?

And if we really want to help ourselves out of our own oil problem, shouldn't we drill our own oil before China gets to it first?

That's My Word.

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193292,00.html
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
By John Gibson
This is how stupid our oil situation is getting.

China is going to be pumping oil out of the Gulf of Mexico — at the same time the United States cannot.

What? How's that again?

Here's how it works, information courtesy Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho who made a speech on the House floor about this Wednesday.

China is bidding on, and will win, rights to explore oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico, which are offered for development by Cuba.

By the way, Mexico just hit a huge offshore oil find in the Gulf of Mexico and expects to be frolicking in oil cash as a result.

The United States will not be participating in these hot, new finds because offshore of Florida is off limits to oil exploration.

Why is that?

Because enviros have managed to put such a stranglehold on Florida that even Gov. Jeb Bush is calling his brother, President George Bush, to say, "Just say no to oil off Florida."

We have to save the everglades, the keys, the bone fishing, the manatee, the whatever.

We certainly cannot give up precious environmental resources just to make certain someone gets another day of oil for their big, fat, piggish SUV and its oil-sucking V8 engine and it's bottomless tub of a gas tank.

So, the end result? We're paying through the nose for gas. Oil hit through the roof. Cuba is exploiting the situation. China is cashing in. Mexico is singing, "Happy days are here again." And the U.S. will be buying oil from those guys while forsaking its own untapped Florida oil fields.

This same thing is happening offshore in California and in Alaska, ANWR in particular.

I've always said this makes no sense. The United States enforces the strictest oil production environmental regulations in the world. And for what? So we can say to the oil companies: "Don't worry, you won't have to obey these regulations anyway because we're not going to let you drill here. Instead, go drill in Azerbaijan and Nigeria where you will have to obey virtually no regulations at all."

If you're a real environmentalist, don't you want oil development in places where real environmental regulations will be enforced?

And if we really want to help ourselves out of our own oil problem, shouldn't we drill our own oil before China gets to it first?

That's My Word.

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193292,00.html

[falcon]

Well the left has given the Commies more of our country, I guess we will not learn until there are at our Doorstep.


Shouldn't We Drill U.S. Oil Before China Does?
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
By John Gibson
This is how stupid our oil situation is getting.

China is going to be pumping oil out of the Gulf of Mexico — at the same time the United States cannot.

What? How's that again?

Here's how it works, information courtesy Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho who made a speech on the House floor about this Wednesday.

China is bidding on, and will win, rights to explore oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico, which are offered for development by Cuba.

By the way, Mexico just hit a huge offshore oil find in the Gulf of Mexico and expects to be frolicking in oil cash as a result.

The United States will not be participating in these hot, new finds because offshore of Florida is off limits to oil exploration.

Why is that?

Because enviros have managed to put such a stranglehold on Florida that even Gov. Jeb Bush is calling his brother, President George Bush, to say, "Just say no to oil off Florida."

We have to save the everglades, the keys, the bone fishing, the manatee, the whatever.

We certainly cannot give up precious environmental resources just to make certain someone gets another day of oil for their big, fat, piggish SUV and its oil-sucking V8 engine and it's bottomless tub of a gas tank.

So, the end result? We're paying through the nose for gas. Oil hit through the roof. Cuba is exploiting the situation. China is cashing in. Mexico is singing, "Happy days are here again." And the U.S. will be buying oil from those guys while forsaking its own untapped Florida oil fields.

This same thing is happening offshore in California and in Alaska, ANWR in particular.

I've always said this makes no sense. The United States enforces the strictest oil production environmental regulations in the world. And for what? So we can say to the oil companies: "Don't worry, you won't have to obey these regulations anyway because we're not going to let you drill here. Instead, go drill in Azerbaijan and Nigeria where you will have to obey virtually no regulations at all."

If you're a real environmentalist, don't you want oil development in places where real environmental regulations will be enforced?

And if we really want to help ourselves out of our own oil problem, shouldn't we drill our own oil before China gets to it first?

That's My Word.
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193292,00.html

[Ryan Ruck]

Obama Surrenders Gulf Oil To Moscow

The Russians are coming - to drill in our own backyard

March 18, 2010

The Obama administration is poised to ban offshore oil drilling on the outer continental shelf until 2012 or beyond. Meanwhile, Russia is making a bold strategic leap to begin drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. While the United States attempts to shift gears to alternative fuels to battle the purported evils of carbon emissions, Russia will erect oil derricks off the Cuban coast.

Offshore oil production makes economic sense. It creates jobs and helps fulfill America's vast energy needs. It contributes to the gross domestic product and does not increase the trade deficit. Higher oil supply helps keep a lid on rising prices, and greater American production gives the United States more influence over the global market.

Drilling is also wildly popular with the public. A Pew Research Center poll from February showed 63 percent support for offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. Americans understand the fundamental points: The oil is there, and we need it. If we don't drill it out, we have to buy it from other countries. Last year, the U.S. government even helped Brazil underwrite offshore drilling in the Tupi oil field near Rio de Janeiro. The current price of oil makes drilling economically feasible, so why not let the private sector go ahead and get our oil?

The Obama administration, however, views energy policy through green eyeshades. Every aspect of its approach to energy is subordinated to radical environmental concerns. This unprecedented lack of balance is placing offshore oil resources off-limits. The O Force would prefer the country shift its energy production to alternative sources, such as nuclear, solar and wind power. In theory, there's nothing wrong with that, in the long run, assuming technology can catch up to demand. But we have not yet reached the green utopia, we won't get there anytime soon, and America needs more oil now.

Russia more sensibly views energy primarily as a strategic resource. Energy is critical to Russia's economy, as fuel and as a source of profit through export. Russia also has used energy as a coercive diplomatic tool, shutting off natural gas piped to Eastern Europe in the middle of winter to make a point about how dependent the countries are that do business with the Russians.

Now Russia is using oil exploration to establish a new presence in the Western Hemisphere. It recently concluded four contracts securing oil-exploration rights in Cuba's economic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. A Russian-Cuban joint partnership will exploit oil found in the deep waters of the Gulf.

Cuba has rights to the area in which drilling will be conducted under an agreement the Carter administration recognized. From Russia's perspective, this is another way to gain leverage inside what traditionally has been America's sphere of influence. It may not be as dramatic as the Soviet Union attempting to use Cuba as a missile platform, but in the energy wars, the message is the same. Russia is projecting power into the Western Hemisphere while the United States retreats. The world will not tolerate a superpower that acts like a sidekick much longer.

[vector7]

I missed this thread in the news section.

This is one more Axis country in the gulf.

The Socialists will keep this up until we are destroyed.

Here's part of another post I found on another board:

By the way in addition to this information which relates to Natural Gas it was just announced by the administration that it is planning to place a hold on offshore drilling on the U.S. outer continental shelf until at least 2012.

We have the Oil and Gas here but are not permitted to develop it. I wonder why are we spending our taxes to help other countries develop their oil and gas resources?

1. August 2009 the U.S. Export-Import Bank begins process of providing $2 billion to Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil company.

2. George Soros owns millions of shares of Petrobras. Petrobras is state owned but sells stock. He converted from common shares to preferred shares just before the announcement of the $2 billion.

3. George Soros is a key founder of MoveOn.org and a supporter of President Obama.

4. Late 2009 and continuing into 2010 a tremendous amount of inaccurate information has been put out about Hydraulic Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania and New York.

5. “This 60-year-old technique has been responsible for 7 billion barrels of oil and 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas,” according to Sen. James Inhofe, ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. “In hydraulic fracturing’s 60-year history, there has not been a single documented case of contamination.”

6. If Hydraulic Fracturing is not permitted to be utilized in the Marcellus Shale formation we will not be able to produce the huge amounts of Natural Gas that could go a long way towards making us energy independent as it relates to Natural Gas.

7. We will not need LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) terminals on our coasts to be able to import Natural Gas from foreign sources.

8. George Soros’ Fund Management holds a huge stake in Interoil and their recent GIANT Gas Field discovery in Papua, New Guinea.

9. Interoil is planning to build a multi billion dollar LNG facility.

10. If the development of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and New York is permitted there will not be a U.S. market for Natural Gas from New Guinea.

[American Patriot]

What happened to "Drill here, Drill NOW!"?

Oh, the Russians listened.

Never mind

[Ryan Ruck]

What happened to "Drill here, Drill NOW!"?

Oh, the Russians listened.

Never mind

Gas prices went back down under $2 for a month or two and the American Idle society forgot all about it. Now gas prices are creeping up again...

[Ryan Ruck]

"I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE! I DRINK IT UP!"

[vector7]

Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling for First Time

By JOHN M. BRODER

Published: March 30, 2010

Multimedia


Graphic

Open for Exploration

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time, officials said Tuesday.

The proposal — a compromise that will please oil companies and domestic drilling advocates but anger some residents of affected states and many environmental organizations — would end a longstanding moratorium on oil exploration along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean.

Under the plan, the coastline from New Jersey northward would remain closed to all oil and gas activity. So would the Pacific Coast, from Mexico to the Canadian border.

The environmentally sensitive Bristol Bay in southwestern Alaska would be
protected and no drilling would be allowed under the plan, officials said. But large tracts in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska — nearly 130 million acres — would be eligible for exploration and drilling after extensive studies.

The proposal is to be announced by President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Wednesday, but administration officials agreed to preview the details on the condition that they not be identified.

The proposal is intended to reduce dependence on oil imports, generate revenue from the sale of offshore leases and help win political support for comprehensive energy and climate legislation.

But while Mr. Obama has staked out middle ground on other environmental matters — supporting nuclear power, for example — the sheer breadth of the offshore drilling decision will take some of his supporters aback. And it is no sure thing that it will win support for a climate bill from undecided senators close to the oil industry, like Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, or Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana.

The Senate is expected to take up a climate bill in the next few weeks — the last chance to enact such legislation before midterm election concerns take over. Mr. Obama and his allies in the Senate have already made significant concessions on coal and nuclear power to try to win votes from Republicans and moderate Democrats. The new plan now grants one of the biggest items on the oil industry’s wish list — access to vast areas of the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling.

But even as Mr. Obama curries favors with pro-drilling interests, he risks a backlash from some coastal governors, senators and environmental advocates, who say that the relatively small amounts of oil to be gained in the offshore areas are not worth the environmental risks.

The Obama administration’s plan adopts some drilling proposals floated by President George W. Bush near the end of his tenure, including opening much of the Atlantic and Arctic Coasts. Those proposals were challenged in court on environmental grounds and set aside by President Obama shortly after he took office.

Unlike the Bush plan, however, Mr. Obama’s proposal would put Bristol Bay, home to major Alaskan commercial fisheries and populations of endangered whales, off limits to oil rigs.

Actual drilling in much of the newly opened areas, if it takes place, would
not begin for years.

Mr. Obama said several times during his presidential campaign that he supported expanded offshore drilling. He noted in his State of the Union address in January that weaning the country from imported oil would require “tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development.”

Perhaps in anticipation of controversy, the new policy has been closely held within the administration. White House and Interior Department officials began briefing members of Congress and local officials in affected states late Tuesday.

It is not known how much potential fuel lies in the areas opened to exploration, although according to Interior Department estimates there could be as much as a three-year supply of recoverable oil and more than two years’ worth of natural gas, at current rates of consumption. But those estimates are based on seismic data that is, in some cases, more than 30 years old.

The first lease sale off the coast of Virginia could occur as early as next year in a triangular tract 50 miles off the coast that had already been approved for development but was held up by a court challenge and
additional Interior Department review, officials said.

But as a result of the Obama decision, the Interior Department will spend several years conducting geologic and environmental studies along the rest of the southern and central Atlantic Seaboard. If a tract is deemed suitable for development, it is listed for sale in a competitive bidding system. The next lease sales — if any are authorized by the Interior Department — would not be held before 2012.

The eastern Gulf of Mexico tract that would be offered for lease is adjacent to an area that already contains thousands of wells and hundreds of drilling platforms. The eastern Gulf area is believed to contain as much as 3.5 billion barrels of oil and 17 trillion cubic feet of gas, the richest single tract that would be open to drilling under the Obama plan.

Drilling there has been strongly opposed by officials from both political parties in Alabama and Florida who fear damage to coastlines, fisheries, popular beaches and wildlife. Interior Department officials said no wells would be allowed within 125 miles of the Florida and Alabama coasts, making them invisible from shore.

The Interior Department and the Pentagon are discussing possible restrictions on oil and gas operations in some areas off Virginia and Florida, home to some of the nation’s biggest Navy and Air Force facilities. States are also likely to claim rights to the revenues from oil and gas deposits within 3 to 12 miles of shore and to some portion of lease proceeds, officials said.

Mr. Salazar developed the offshore drilling plan after conducting four public meetings over the past year in Alaska, California, Louisiana and New Jersey. The Interior Department received more than 500,000 public comments on the issue.

Mr. Salazar has said that he hoped to rebalance the nation’s oil and gas policy to find a middle ground between the “drill here drill now” advocacy of many oil industry advocates and the preservationist impulse to block oil exploration beneath virtually all public lands and waters.

He has called the offshore drilling plan a new chapter in the nation’s search for a comprehensive energy policy that can open new areas to oil and gas development “in the right way and in the right places,” according to an aide.

In many of the newly opened areas, drilling would begin only after the completion of geologic studies, environmental impact statements, court challenges and public lease sales. Much of the oil and gas may not be recoverable at current prices and may be prohibitively expensive even if oil prices spike as they did in the summer of 2008.

At the Wednesday event, Mr. Obama is also expected to announce two other initiatives to reduce oil imports, an agreement between the Pentagon and the Agriculture Department to use more biofuels in military vehicles and the purchase of thousands of hybrid vehicles for the federal motor pool.

[American Patriot]

Hate to say this, but just because the Soviets... I mean Russians are drilling... off the east coast, but... that doesn't stop US from drilling too!

[vector7]

Yep, I was too hasty in posting this here.

There may be some strategy behind this move.

[vector7]

Reflecting on what has transpired on this subject over the past several months:

Obama Surrenders Gulf Oil to Russia...One Month after the Gulf Oil Crisis happens and the Administration shuts down all Gulf drilling.

Obama, Soros, Petrobras-(Brazil/China)& offshore drilling double standards.

The 'I' is the only letter missing out of this word to spell out their organization BR*C...or is it?

Maybe there's another country that could be substituted that starts with an 'I'...

How about Iran?

[vector7]

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• Obama Administration Imposes Seven-year Drilling Moratorium
• Obama Surrenders US Gulf Oil to Moscow

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ExxonMobil signs Russian oil pact


View Photo Gallery —  Iran and these four countries are the world’s biggest oil producers.

By Will Englund and Brad Plumer,

MOSCOW — Exxon Mobil and the Russian oil firm Rosneft agreed to a deal Tuesday to begin joint operations on Russia’s Arctic Sea shelf and in the deep waters of the Black Sea, far to the south.

In return, Rosneft will get a chance to take part in Exxon’s operations in the Gulf of Mexico and Texas. The two companies said they also will pursue joint ventures in third countries.

Exxon agreed to invest $3.2 billion in opening oil and gas production in the Kara Sea, which is an arm of the Arctic Ocean tucked south of an island chain called Novaya Zemlya. Ice had made the Kara Sea too inhospitable for drilling operations in the past, but the recent advent of higher arctic temperatures makes it more attractive to oil companies.

Rosneft has calculated reserves in the Kara Sea’s East-Prinovozemelsky field at 35.8 billion barrels of oil and 10.3 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

It says the Tuapse field contains 2.2 billion to 7.2 billion barrels.

Russia’s economy depends heavily on petroleum exports, yet many of its oil fields in West Siberia are in decline. As such, the country is eager to tap into the vast unconventional oil resources of the Arctic. Yet the difficult environment means that Russian companies still rely on the expertise of Western producers such as Exxon, which has experience drilling in arctic regions of Canada.

Analysts note that the deal, while relatively small for Exxon in the near term, could be a boon over time. “With the potential that those Russian fields hold, this is certainly a win for Exxon and opens them up for a lot of potential oil growth in the future,” said Allen Good, an energy analyst at Morningstar.

An arctic exploration proposal between Rosneft and BP collapsed in May after BP failed to reach an agreement with its partners in its Russian venture. Analysts say the unexpected collapse of the BP deal, which had the blessing of Prime Minister Vladi*mir Putin, made the Exxon agreement all the more critical.

“That earlier strikeout was an embarrassment for Russia,” said Fadel Gheit, an oil analyst at Oppenheimer. “If this deal had fallen through, it would be hard to find further foreign takers.”

Putin was at the signing Tuesday, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

According to Russian news services, he said the total value of the projects could be $200 billion to $300 billion, or even as much as $500 billion.

The deal also signals a thaw in U.S-Russian relations. Cliff Kupchan, director of the Eurasia Group, noted that just three years ago, U.S. energy firms were shut out of deals in Russia. “Since then,” he said, “we’ve had a reset in the relationship under President Obama, from cooperation on Iran to the START treaty, and we’re seeing that improved relationship seeping into energy.”

Exxon will take a 33 percent stake in the arctic and Black Sea projects. The details of Rosneft’s reciprocal participation in the Gulf of Mexico and Texas were not spelled out Tuesday.

The Black Sea exploration will take place in the Tuapse License Block, where the water is more than a mile deep. A preliminary agreement on that venture was reached in February.

The two companies also agreed to open a jointly staffed an Arctic Research and Design Center for Offshore Developments in St. Petersburg, Putin’s home town.

Rosneft became Russia’s largest oil company after it acquired assets of Yukos, which was broken up when Russian authorities decided to imprison its chief, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, in 2005. The Russian government holds a majority stake in the firm.

Plumer reported from Washington.

[vector7]

China to North America: Send us your oil


Mikael Kjellstrom/Postmedia News
A glut of oil and gas in North America stands to benefit hungry Asian nations.

Claudia Cattaneo Sep 29, 2011 – 7:04 AM ET | Last Updated: Sep 29, 2011 10:43 AM ET

As Americans quarrel over whether fossil fuels belong in their future, Asian countries are taking a powerful message to Washington Thursday: Ship your oil and gas to us.

The case for the establishment of a transpacific energy market involving the United States and Canada as exporters, and Asian countries including China, Japan and Korea as importers, will be presented at the annual meeting of the Pacific Economic Co-operation Council, a group of 23 Asia Pacific economies that work together on public policy issues.

It’s the first time the prospect is being seriously discussed for a simple reason: It is now possible.

So far, trade between the two regions has been minute — accounting for only 1.2% of the globe’s oil trade and 0.3% of the globe’s gas trade — because the United States needed all of its domestically produced energy, while Canada, which has lots of energy available to export, does not have the infrastructure to ship to Asia.


Andrew Barr/National Post

But a series of game changers has emerged. Unconventional gas discoveries have created a North American glut that could be sold elsewhere.

Asian investors have started to participate heavily in North American projects, primarily in Canada’s oil sands, boosting their ability to increase production. Asian countries are eager to move away from coal and into more environmentally benign natural gas. There concerns about nuclear power following Japan’s Fukushima disaster. There are continuing and growing worries about dependence on Middle East suppliers, who are charging them very high prices.

“The big picture is that Asia is looking to increase its energy security, it’s looking to reduce its carbon footprint and strengthen economic and political ties with North America, and energy can be part of that solution,” Yuen Pau Woo, the president of the Vancouver-based Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, who will be presenting the message, said in an interview. “The issue really is whether North America wants to put in place the infrastructure, the policies and the relationships in order to export to Asia.”

The geopolitical implications would be significant, he argues, because a closer energy relationship between North America and Asia would reduce Asia’s dependence on the Middle East, Russia and Central Asia.

Pau Woo has been front and centre in making the case for stronger energy ties between Canada and Asia, particularly China.

Now, the message is being broadened to include the United States because of its new potential as an energy exporter, he said. Like Canada, the U.S. can build natural gas liquefaction facilities on the West Coast or in the Gulf of Mexico, allowing transportation by tanker.

But Asian interest in tapping the United States’ fossil fuels is not just about finding another energy source. It’s also about playing the United States against Canada as potential partners with Asia, much like Canada is playing China against the United States as a market for Canadian oil.

“One message that is very important for the Canadian industry and the Canadian people is: ‘While we debate in Canada whether we want to export oil and gas into Asia, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that we are the only ones who have visibility,” Mr. Pau Woo said. “The Americans have a lot more shale gas than we do [in Canada]. And they could very well get to the prize before we do.”

It will be interesting to watch how the powerful U.S. green lobby, which has been ramping up its campaign against fossil fuels in North America ahead of the U.S. presidential election by targeting growth enablers such as the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline and natural gas fracking, responds to the emergence of eager markets for North American fossil fuels in Asia.

The environmental benefits cannot be denied: Oil and natural gas are cleaner than coal, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Asia and on a global basis.

It will also be interesting to watch whether Americans have overcome their anxiety over China. It was in full display in 2005, when China National Offshore Oil Corp. had to back away from its bid to buy Unocal Corp., which was ultimately won by Chevron Corp. for less money, following huge political controversy.

Pau Woo said the response from the U.S. administration has been positive because it raises the possibility of export growth in a new sector that seems to have rich potential, and because “it is a useful counter weight to the very parochial discussions around pipelines and American energy drilling and other controversial issues.”

Industry is well aware of the story and is supportive. Today’s message aims to start the debate with policy makers and the public.

[vector7]

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Exxon-Rosneft Deal Signed in Putin's Presence

17 April 2012
Bloomberg



Andrei Makhonin / Vedomosti



Rosneft, whose logo is pictured above, signed a partnership deal with U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil.

ExxonMobil agreed to grant Rosneft access to North American projects in a deal for Arctic resources overseen by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Exxon chief executive Rex Tillerson and Rosneft CEO Eduard Khudainatov signed agreements Monday at Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow on setting up joint ventures to explore Russian offshore blocks in the Kara and Black Seas, which may cost as much as $350 billion to develop, Putin's deputy for energy, Igor Sechin, told reporters at the ceremony.

Rosneft is acquiring 30 percent of Exxon's unconventional La Escalera Ranch project in western Texas and Harmattan acreage in the Cardium formation in Alberta, Canada and gained the right to 30 percent of 20 Gulf of Mexico blocks, according to a statement from the companies.

"Now we take our relationship to a new dimension," Tillerson said to Putin, who is also president-elect. "We become global strategic partners."

Russia is offering billions of barrels of resources for access to projects abroad and the technology it needs to exploit its own complex deposits in increasingly harsh environments as traditional resources decline. Rosneft and Exxon, which agreed on the partnership in August last year, confirmed Monday an initial $3.2 billion investment to explore in the Arctic Kara Sea and the Black Sea.

"Any substantial reserves in the United States were inaccessible to Rosneft without Exxon's involvement," said Michael Kart, managing partner at Spectrum Partners, which manages $150 million in assets including Rosneft shares. "It is a political move rather than a purely economical one."

Exxon will be able to book reserves, Sechin said. The Kara Sea project may include 15 platforms and require $200 billion to $300 billion of investment, while the Black Sea project may cost about $50 billion, he said.

"Russia needs to open up new sources of oil and gas for the next decade while the Arctic is probably the last undeveloped province that a major producer such as ExxonMobil can access to replenish its reserve and production base," said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at UralSib Financial.

The companies will also study the potential for so-called tight oil fields in western Siberia, according to their agreements.

Putin last week offered tax breaks of as long as 15 years to new offshore projects in Russia. Tillerson thanked Putin for the tax incentives.

Rosneft in turn aims to leverage the Exxon deal to expand internationally and add $100 billion to its value. Rosneft shares rose 0.4 percent to 210.89 rubles ($7) at the 6:45 p.m. close in Moscow, valuing the producer at about $75 billion.

Access to international reserves will cut a discount that investors assign Rosneft for being purely Russian, Khudainatov said in June last year.

Output in the Kara Sea blocks is too far away to be priced in today, Spectrum's Kart said. "It certainly gives some comfort that huge Arctic reserves are going to be realized with higher probability" given Exxon's involvement, he said.

Exxon replaced BP in the Kara Sea project with Rosneft last year. The British explorer's partners in Russia said their shareholder agreement gave the TNK-BP venture, Russia's third-largest oil producer, first rights to projects BP considered in the country.

Rosneft also invited LUKoil, TNK-BP, Surgutneftegas and Bashneft to jointly work on 12 offshore blocks, Khudainatov told reporters Monday.