Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP advised long-standing client ExxonMobil as it finalized agreements with Rosneft to establish a joint Arctic Research Center (ARC) in Russia as well as a technology-sharing agreement supporting the two companies’ joint ventures worldwide.
The ARC will provide the ExxonMobil/Rosneft joint ventures with a full range of research, development and technical services, with a near-term focus on the Kara Sea. ExxonMobil will provide $200 million in funding for the center’s initial research work, and Rosneft and ExxonMobil will equally fund the next $250 million to continue their joint research work.
International corporate transactions partners Richard Wilkie and Alexey Kondratchik in Akin Gump’s Moscow office led the team advising ExxonMobil, supported by Moscow corporate counsel Oleg Isaev.
This follows on Akin Gump’s representation in December 2012 of ExxonMobil in a joint project with Rosneft to assess “tight oil” reserves at the Bazhenov and Achimov formations in Western Siberia. Additional information about that deal can be found here.
