From the North Sea (NT): Lukoil is to team up with Gazprom to go exploring in Russia’s Barents Sea, despite saying last year it made more sense to develop onshore fields in Siberia than chase new discoveries offshore.

The private company will hold a 34% stake in a joint venture which is due to be established by year-end, according to CEO Vagit Alekperov. Under Russian law, offshore exploration rights are reserved for state-owned enterprises, but private companies like Lukoil can get round the restrictions by partnering with a license-holder like Gazprom.

Meanwhile a research expedition has returned to port after finding “extreme ice conditions” in areas licensed to Rosneft and ExxonMobil in the Kara, Laptev and East Siberian seas.

During the two-month voyage nearly 1,000 icebergs were encountered, representing a real challenge to drilling, Barents Observer reports. Volcanologists will be despatched to the East Siberian Sea to investigate signs of seismic activity.

This summer Rosneft and ExxonMobil plan to spend an estimated $600 million drilling the Universitetskaya wildcat in the Kara Sea.

The Natural Resources Ministry has tendered for an aerial survey to help establish the prospectivity of the northern East Siberia Sea.