BP is set to announce a deal with Russian state run energy giant Rosneft, according to the BBC.
The share swap deal could allow BP to drill for oil and gas in the untouched and totally unproven waters in the Russian part of the Arctic.
BP new chief executive Bob Dudley is hosting a press conference later where details are expected.
It could mean the Russian government owning a significant part of the UK’s largest oil major.
Shares of BP listed in the US climbed 3.5% to $49.18 ahead of the news conference.
Such a deal would be the first significant deal the oil firm has done in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill crisis last year.
Since that disaster in the US Gulf of Mexico BP has been disposing of assets.
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