* New deal follows previous $5.3 bln crude agreement
* Also follows arrival of former BP top trader at Rosneft
* BP, major Rosneft shareholder, keen to expand cooperation
By Vladimir Soldatkin
MOSCOW, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Top Russian oil firm Rosneft said it would sell about $6 billion worth of refinedproducts to BP, establishing the British major among itsbiggest buyers after years without any such deal.
The latest transaction comes on top of a $5.3 billion dealfor BP to buy crude, agreed earlier this year. Both came onlymonths after Rosneft hired a former senior BP trader, MarcusCooper, as head of its own trading arm in Geneva.
BP has become Rosneft's second-largest shareholder, behindonly the Kremlin, after Rosneft took over BP's Russian ventureTNK-BP for $55 billion in March.
But the participation in Rosneft's ownership was slow totranslate into cooperation in upstream projects, while ExxonMobil signed a flurry of deals with Rosneft to tap theRussian Arctic together.
BP has also been absent for many years from the list ofmajor buyers of Rosneft's oil and refined products, while rivalssuch as Shell have been among the biggest players intaking oil exports from the world's largest producer.
Over the past year, Rosneft also has sold large amounts ofcrude to trading houses Glencore, Vitol and Trafiguraas they have lined up $11.5 billion worth of pre-payment, whichhelped Rosneft ease the burden on its balance sheet.
MARCUS COOPER
BP had its first breakthrough in October, when it signeddeals to buy $5.3 billion of crude oil from Rosneft.
On Tuesday, Rosneft said in a regulatory filing it alsoagreed to sell up to 3.2 million tonnes of fuel oil worth up to$2.6 billion to BP Singapore from the Far East ports of Nakhodkaor Vanino between November 2013 and December 2014.
It will also sell up to 1.44 million tonnes of diesel to BPworth up to $1.77 billion from the Black Sea port of Tuapse; upto 2 million tonnes of fuel oil to BP worth as much as $1.62billion from the Baltic port of Ust-Luga; and up to 60,000tonnes of naphtha worth $65 million from Tuapse.
Rosneft and BP's Moscow office declined to comment on thedeals.
Cooper took over trading operations at Rosneft's Genevaoffice after years at BP, including a senior position at itsoffice in Singapore.
A Singapore-based fuel oil trader with a Western tradinghouse said he expected most of the volumes from the Rosneftcontract to head to China.
"BP will have a bigger trading presence in the straight-runfuel oil market in China," he said.
BP is buying from Rosneft straight-run fuel oil, which istypically processed by smaller, independent refineries in China.
"BP is taking a view on the straight-run market next year,"another Singapore-based fuel oil trader said, as refineries arelowering crude distillation runs because of low refining marginsand are maximizing runs at secondary units.