Russia's gas giant Gazprom will set up a joint venture on a parity basis with Israel to develop Israel's offshore gas deposits, Stanislav Tsygankov, head of Gazprom's foreign relations department, said on Thursday.
"We are planning to establish a joint venture where Gazprom will participate in the shelf's development. We are planning to buy a 50 percent stake," Tsygankov said after a meeting of the Russian-Israeli trade and economic cooperation commission.
Gazprom's extensive experience in offshore field exploration and production could be applied to Israeli deposits, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Gazprom Board of Directors Viktor Zubkov said.
"We would like to continue studying projects for the development of Israel's internal gas infrastructure and the possibilities of cooperation in Israeli gas distribution and exports to third countries," he said.
RIA Novosti
