Russian oil giant Rosneft will work with Vestas in wind power, in a move that could mean further progress in the Russian market for the Danish turbine group.
Rosneft announced an “agreement on co-operation in wind power generation” with Vestas as one of 73 such accords unveiled during the St Petersburg Economic Forum.
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No further details of the co-operation or its potential outcomes were given in a brief mention of the deal.
Rosneft, Russia’s biggest oil producer, has previously said that its vast $100 billion Vostok oil project in the Arctic will be part-powered by local wind generation.
“Special wind farms... will be integrated with Vostok Oil. The relevant meteorological research has already been conducted,” Rosneft said last year.
The Russian group earlier this year also unveiled a partnership with BP - which holds a significant stake in Rosneft, and is itself one of the most ambitious fossil groups in green power – over potential renewable, carbon capture and other emissions reductions initiatives.
Tapping wind and solar to help decarbonise oil and gas production is of growing interest to the hydrocarbons sector as it looks to drive down its operational emissions footprint while still maintaining output of its core products, with the Hywind Tampen floating wind project off Norway among the most prominent examples.
Vestas and Rosneft have both been contacted for further details of the envisaged co-operation.
Vestas is already well established in Russia thanks to its long-standing role as supplier to the development partnership between local player Rusnano and Fortum of Finland.
The Danish OEM opened its first factory in Russia as long ago as 2018 and by late last year had signed agreements for more than 1GW.
Other active players in the fledgling Russian wind market include state nuclear group Rosatom and global development giant Enel.
(This article first appeared in Upstream's sister renewable energy publication Recharge on 7 June, 2021.)
