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It黑料社檚 easy to see why: the country is now the world黑料社檚 largest oil-producing nation, pumping about 10 million barrels a day. And while new offshore drilling in countries like the United States is currently off limits, the big draw in Russia is its willingness to engage in increased offshore exploration 黑料社� particularly as easier-to-access onshore reserves around the world get depleted.

Indeed, practically all of Russia's large new deposits are in deepwater offshore or inhospitable environments 黑料社� or both. As a result, many believe Moscow黑料社檚 desire to secure the involvement of IOCs is a matter of necessity, claiming Russia lacks the technology to develop such hard-to-reach deposits efficiently itself. 黑料社淭he only option is to cooperate with foreign companies,黑料社� says Valery Nesterov, an Analyst at Troika Dialog Bank in Moscow.

Indeed, Western executives are betting that their technical knowledge may help insulate them from Russia黑料社檚 political and business vagaries. To pull off the massive production shift into regions that are difficult to develop, Russia will need considerable help in oilfield services; everything from seismic and geological to drilling, wellhead operations, well maintenance and workover provisions, and technical support. All are areas in which international firms excel.

Others, however, suggest the motivation goes deeper than that. Andrew Neff, Senior Analyst at IHS Herold, believes the move to open up to the West is born out of a need for influence as much as it is for assistance. 黑料社淚 think the Russian government has a strong desire to take Rosneft to the next level and internationalise the company,黑料社� he says. 黑料社淚t黑料社檚 similar to the strategy that we黑料社檝e seen with the Chinese government and the NOCs there. I think the difference here is that the motivation from the Chinese side is greater access to resources, whereas Russia doesn黑料社檛 need more oil and gas so much as they have a desire for influence in other parts of the world.黑料社�

Neff thinks we will see more in the way of asset swap agreements where in order to get access to the Russian market, foreign firms will have to give up some sort of stake in projects elsewhere. In fact, despite investor concerns in the wake of BP黑料社檚 recent problems, he feels that Russia is increasingly open to foreign businesses.

黑料社淚 would say that the pendulum is shifting again,黑料社� he says. 黑料社淔rom 1998 to 2004 it swung in favour of the IOCs; and then after the TNK-BP deal was formed, it swung back towards the Russian firms. I think it黑料社檚 now coming back towards the middle, where we黑料社檙e seeing more of a partnership agreement. It黑料社檚 not necessarily led by the IOCs or by Russian firms, but represents something closer to the middle 黑料社� albeit slightly tilted towards the domestics.黑料社�

The reason, he explains, is born out of necessity: Russia is trying to plug a budget deficit and stem the future decline of oil production in Western Siberia, and cannot do so without opening up access to its offshore reserves to overseas companies. 黑料社淭here黑料社檚 a feeling now that some of the foreign investment is welcome; it黑料社檚 not just plundering Russia黑料社檚 resources,黑料社� says Neff, before adding that attitudes are also changing in the West, too. 黑料社淚OCs are belatedly coming to grips with the fact that Russia has re-established itself and that they黑料社檙e going to have to work with the NOCs as equal partners 黑料社� or even take a minority stake 黑料社揳nd make their peace with that. The days when IOCs could just come in and act as the project operator 黑料社� to the virtual exclusion of the local firms 黑料社� are over.黑料社�

Investing in Russia黑料社檚 oil and gas sector is an issue that will no doubt be on the agenda at the , which takes place at the Imperial Park Hotel and SPA, Moscow Region, Russia from 5 - 7 July. This closed-door summit, hosted by GDS International, features other leading voices in the CIS oil and gas sector, including Didier Casimiro, CEO/President of TNK-BP Commerce; Aleksei Bespalov, CIO at Tatneft; and Valeriy Vasilev, Chief Geologist at Vostokgazprom.

Along with new project development, other key topics for discussion include getting the most out mature fields, implementing an effective health and safety programme, rolling out cutting-edge communications and how to optimise the exploration process.

is an exclusive C-level event reserved for 100 participants that includes expert workshops, facilitated roundtables, peer-to-peer networks and co-ordinated meetings.

Read the article online at: /business-news/19042011/foreign_investment_in_russian_oil_and_gas_projects_is_a_win-win/