French oil giant Total SA is planning to team up with Lukoil on its shale oil projects in Russia as the country resorts to unconventional resources to replace falling production at ageing fields in Siberia, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Lukoil is exploring the massive but unproven Bazhenov formation, which holds the major share of Russia's shale oil reserves, which according to the US Department of Energy is estimated to be the biggest in the world, the newspaper reported on its website. People familiar with the matter said Lukoil and the French oil major are discussing a joint venture to co-operate on the production of 'difficult oil' in Russia - a category that includes shale oil. There is no guarantee that the talks would result in a deal, they added, the Financial Times said.