Petroneft, the Dublin-listed Russian oil exploration firm, has agreed a deal with Arawak Energy to pursue new opportunities in the west Siberian oil and gas basin.
Under the deal, Petroneft will have first refusal to be the operator of any joint projects in this basin, where it currently has most of its operations.
Arawak, which is an oil and gas production, development and exploration group, has operations in Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan.
Chief executive of Petroneft, Dennis Francis, said the combined expertise and resources of the two firms would facilitate the acquisition and development of new opportunities in the region.