Russia and Saudi Arabia discuss joint oil projects

Russia and Saudi Arabia discuss joint projects in oil-and-gas industry.

On Monday, Russian Energy Minister Igor Yusufov, who is on an official visit to Saudi Arabia now, announced in the interview with Ash-sharq Al-awsat newspaper that both sides actively discuss joint projects in Saudi Arabia, Russia and other countries, primarily in the CIS member countries.

The minister said that the main task nowadays is to create favorable conditions to implement those projects, namely - to sign an agreement on avoiding redundant taxation and promoting investments, and also a banking agreement according to the provisions established during the first meeting of the joint Russian-Saudi committee on trade and economic cooperation in Moscow at the end of 2002.

Yusufov also stated that the Russian Gazprom company could participate in exploration of Saudi gas deposits, and Saudi companies could in turn explore Russian oil fields.