Statoil and Rosneft have signed shareholder and operating agreements that will establish joint ventures for the four offshore Russian license areas included in the cooperation agreement signed by the two companies May 5, a Statoil news release said.

The license areas are Perseevsky in the Barents Sea and Kashevarovsky, Lisyansky, and Magadan 1 in the Sea of Okhotsk.

The agreements were signed in Stavanger by Statoil CEO Helge Lund and Rosneft Chairman and President Igor Sechin. Their signing represents a step toward full implementation of the Statoil-Rosneft cooperation agreement.

The agreements are identical for the four license areas. Rosneft will have an equity share of 66.67% in each of the operating joint ventures, and Statoil’s share will be 33.33%.

Statoil will fund 100% of costs in the exploration phase, which includes an obligatory work program of six wildcat wells to be drilled during the period 2016-2021.

A fiscal reform package providing incentives for the development of Russian offshore , including through geological survey, was outlined in a Russian government decree of April 2012. Enactment and implementation of these measures will facilitate the conduct of more capital intensive exploration work.

The agreements also foresee the exchange of management and technical personnel between the companies and the building of competence in core E&P disciplines.