Russia state-controlled natural gas monopoly OAO Gazprom and state-controlled oil giant OAO Rosneft signed a wide-ranging cooperation deal Tuesday that calls for new joint ventures to bid for hydrocarbon production licenses and other forms of coordination, the Associated Press reports.
The two companies also said in a statement that Gazprom would buy natural gas from Rosneft.

“In line with agreements reached, Rosneft and Gazprom will develop cooperation in prospecting, producing, transporting and processing crude hydrocarbon resources, and purchasing and selling natural and associated gas,” the companies said in a joint statement.

Both companies in recent years have consolidated control in the energy industry, signing exclusive distribution deals, buying up production companies and squeezing foreign-run energy projects in Russia.

Many analysts have said the moves are part of a Kremlin-orchestrated drive to get complete authority over the nation’s vast oil and gas resources.

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