SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia—Following the signing of a long-term strategic oil and gas contract between Erbil and Rosneft on Friday the CEO of the Russian company Igor Sechin says that the deal will help Kurdistan Region’s economic infrastructure.
Sechin told Rudaw that he will be visiting the Kurdistan Region in the near future and that Rosneft will be taking over five blocks for the extraction and production of oil.
Sechin said that the deal that was signed Friday and other projects will be the basis of cooperation between Rosneft and the Kurdistan Region for improving the region’s infrastructure.
Sechin who signed the contract with Kurdish Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami said that the deal may be followed by other strategic projects.
Erbil and Moscow reached the agreement during a visit by Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and a government delegation to Saint Petersburg to attend the economic forum.
Sechin said that the Kurdistan Region has been a good place for Russian companies such as Gazprom, Rosneft, Lukoil and others.
Following the signing of the contract Rosneft said in a statement: “The new agreements will allow to talk about full entry of the Company in one of the most promising regions of the developing global energy market with the expected recoverable reserves in the order of 45 billion bbl of oil and 5.66 trillion m3 of gas (according to the estimate of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Kurdistan Region). The agreements provide for further phased investments of Rosneft in Kurdistan Region,” read the statement.
