Russian oil giants enter partnership in Venezuela: reports

MOSCOW: Five Russian oil companies have taken an equal share in a deal to produce and refine Venezuelan oil, Russian news agencies reported Sunday.

Rosneft, Lukoil, joint Russian-British venture TNK-BP, Surgutnefnegaz and Gazprom each acquired a 20 percent stake of a company incorporated in Venezuela in October, the chief executive of Russia's top oil producer Rosneft, Sergei Bogdanchikov, told journalists during a visit to Havana.

Oil reserves in Venezuela's Orinoco region are the focus of a series of projects being run in tandem with the Venezuelan government, with deputy Russian Prime Minister Igor Sechin telling ITAR-TASS that improvements to refining the regional output are a key focus.