Rosneft and Shell in talks

Igor Sechin, Russia's top energy official and the head of Russia's largest oil company, Rosneft, has met with Shell's chief executive, Peter Voser, to discuss Arctic exploration projects, the Russian government said yesterday.

Earlier this month, the state-controlled Rosneft's Arctic deal with BP collapsed, opening up the doors for other major oil companies to fill its place. Last week Mr Sechin named Shell along with several other oil companies as a potential replacement for BP in the Arctic.