Rosneft and General Electric signed an Agreement to set up a series of joint ventures. The document was signed by Rosneft President Igor Sechin and General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev. The Agreement is aimed at the expansion of science and technology cooperation between the companies and envisages in the first phase the creation of two specialized centers:

Application Engineering and Training Center
Research and Development (R&D) Center

Rosneft and General Electric will initially contribute a total of US$20 million to the centers on a parity basis. Additional aggregate financing of US$50 million will be made by the parties upon agreement on specific projects. Rosneft and GE intend to jointly invest up to US$400 million in the centers through 2020. The centers will allow Rosneft, the world leader of oil and gas production, to maintain efficient onshore production and to enhance Arctic and offshore shelf projects by implementing the most sophisticated and safe technologies.

Commenting on the signing Igor Sechin said: “The implementation of the project will allow Rosneft and General Electric to create unique engineering and R&D technology hubs in Russia. Critical to their mission will be the localization of equipment and service opportunities for Rosneft projects. A project-based approach envisaged for the activities of the centers drastically increases the impact and efficiency of direct financing of science and technology projects critical to the development of the Russian economy. Moreover the implementation of this Agreement will create new jobs and train high level specialist for the needs of Rosneft and the Russian economy”.

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said: “We see great opportunities in the sustainable growth of the oil and gas sector in Russia, one of the largest in the world. Today we are pleased to build on our strategic partnership with Rosneft by signing an agreement focused on developing local expertise and technology solutions which will drive productivity and growth in the oil and gas sector in Russia.”