BP (BP), Exxon (XOM) Joined by Total (TOT) in Russian Oil Deals

With the Arctic Circle opening up to offshore drillers, majors like ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), BP Plc (NYSE:BP) and now Total S.A. (NYSE:TOT) are pursuing the Russians in an attempt to secure promising deals.

In the case of Total, they're negotiating with Rosneft to develop fields within the Artic Circle in the Barents Sea, according to Total's head of its Russian office Pierre Nerguararian.

BP was the first of the three to enter a deal with Rosneft, last month agreeing to swap shares with the state-owned Russian company in exchange for access to billions of barrels of crude. That deal is being held up by a challenge from other Russian partners in TNK-BP, which challenged whether BP had the right to make the deal without consulting them first.

Exxon entered a $1 billion deal with Rosneft for exploration rights in the Black Sea.

Total is already working with another Russian partner in the Arctic - Gazprom - where they are developing the Shtokman field, which holds an estimated 3.9 trillion cubic meters of gas.

According to the American government, about 20 percent of the undiscovered oil and gas in the world that can be used commercially is located in the Arctic.

Chevron (CVX) has also entered into a preliminary agreement with Russia to explore a block in the Black Sea.