MOSCOW, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Shell and Russia's
Gazprom Neft have expanded their Russian joint venture
by acquiring a licence for exploration and production of
conventional hydrocarbon reserves in West Siberia, the two
companies said on Friday.
The JV, Salym Petroleum Development (SPD), will get the
Salymsky 2 block in the Khanty Mansiisk Autonomous Region.
There are no field-specific infrastructure facilities at the
site, the companies said.
"However, close proximity to the areas which are being
developed by SPD will have a synergistic effect, allowing
efficient use of the existing SPD production facilities," they
said.
SPD has been developing the Salym Group of oilfields in West
Siberia since 2003.
According to Shell and Gazprom Neft, the Salym project is
the largest onshore investment project involving foreign capital
in the Russian oil industry.
(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin)
