Crescent Petroleum, the Middle East's leading private oil and gas company and Rosneft Oil Company, Russia's leading oil company, signed on Saturday a farm-out agreement for the Sharjah Onshore Concession. The agreement was signed by Badr Jafar, executive director of Crescent Petroleum Group, and Sergey Bogdanchikov, president of Rosneft Oil Company in the presence of Igor Sechin, deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation and chairman of Rosneft Oil Company; and Omar Ghobash, UAE ambassador to the Russian Federation. Under the terms of the accord, both companies will work together to develop the Sharjah Onshore Concession which comprises a large area of 1,243 square kilometers in Sharjah, and which neighbors the prolific Sajaa gas field in production since 1982, and also borders each of the remaining six Emirates of the UAE as well as the Sultanate of Oman. Rosneft receives a 49 percent of the participating interest in the concession, with Crescent Petroleum holding the remaining 51 percent. The current agreed investment plan of approximately AED220 million ($60 million) will go principally towards initial exploration activities including the drilling of two wells to an approximate depth of 14,800 feet. The farm-out agreement follows the ground-breaking Strategic Cooperation Agreement between Rosneft and Crescent Petroleum which was signed on 19th May 2010 to jointly develop material oil and gas opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa region. Badr Jafar, executive director of Crescent Petroleum, said “this partnership reflects the close relationship that has been established, and the positive synergies between the companies - combining Rosneft's strengths with Crescent Petroleum's regional experience and knowledge. This is hopefully the first of many joint projects together across the region, and we would also like to thank the governments of the UAE and Russia for their support for such beneficial economic cooperation.”
