How To Trade The Russian Offshore Oil Sector Buzz (BP, RIG, RDS.A, XOM)

The partnership between BP

and Russia's Rosneft's, announced last Friday in England, has launched a ripe environment for new opportunities for major oil providers in the Arctic Circle. Analysts and trade news sources such as <

explain that the partnership will be beneficial to both companies: BP's technology will be an asset to Rosneft, and Rosneft will connect BP to an approximate 125,000 square kilometers of reserves. The deal will develop three blocks along the Russian Arctic continental shelf and the areas may hold up to 35.8 billion barrels of crude and 10.3 trillion cubic meters of gas, according to Rosneft. Will more companies in the energy sector join in to the Russian offshore drilling environment? Is Russia becoming suddenly friendly to international alliance in the Artic region? Indeed, some of yesterday's reports compare BP's deal to a template for Rosneft to forge future allies if the Russian state-run enterprise chooses to pursue more international partnerships. Rosneft CEO Eduard Khudainatov said last December that the company is looking to become a global producer "on all continents," planning to unroll intentions sometime this year. If companies can present viable plans, new partnerships may not be too far away at all. Some blogs have already noted Exxon Mobil's

interest in the Rosneft partnership as well. BP's marked sector lead in exploration technologies was said to be a deciding factor for Rosneft. Benzinga contacted Transocean

spokesman Guy Cantrell for exclusive content, who said that Transocean has a definite interest in the Arctic region. Transocean has developed an Arctic drill ship design they hope to use soon, Cantrell said. "Clearly it's a frontier area that looks very promising in the long run," Cantrell said. Transocean does not have any current contracts, Cantrell said, and will pursue future projects reflecting customer needs and interests. Another company to keep an eye on is the Royal Dutch Shell ADR

. Royal Dutch Shell is experiencing global momentum, including a joint venture with Brazilian company Cosan

, Chevron

, and Exxon Mobil's

gigantic Australian Gorgon project. This company could also see M&A or partnership interest from Russia's Rosneft. The exchange-traded fund for US oil is the United States Oil Fund

.