BP, Russian company sign deal on share swap

    LONDON, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- British Petroleum（石油） (BP) signed an agreement with Russia's state-controlled oil producer Rosneft on Friday evening, under which BP will swap¹ 5 percent of its stock, valued at 7.8 billion U.S. dollars, for 9.5 percent of Rosneft.
    The agreement also allows BP to explore three blocks in Russia's Arctic Ocean that BP said could contain billions of barrels of oil and gas.
    "This is a historic moment for BP, for our industry and I believe for Russia and the wider world of energy globally," said Bob Dudley, who became BP's chief executive last October, at the signing ceremony in central London.
    This is the first significant equity-linked parternership between a major international oil company and a major national oil company, Dudley added.
    "Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, told us today in our meeting in Moscow it is an alliance based on mutual² advantage and recognition（识别） of the great strengths that bring each of us together in our cooperation," said Dudley.
    The signing ceremony came hours after Dudely met Russia's prime minister Vladimir Putin at his Moscow residence.
    BP had an existing 1.2-percent stake in Rosneft before this deal, after BP spent 1 billion dollars on the shares during Rosneft's initial pubilic offering in July 2006.
    When asked whether BP is "turning to the east" after the disaster in the Gulf³ of Mexico, Dudley said the discussions with Rosneft had been going on for a number of months and "are not a reaction to anything in the U.S."With exploration in the Gulf of Mexico still at a standstill and with no new wells drilled since the accident last April, the deal is generally seen as BP shifting its sights to the east.
    There has been a rising prospect⁴ for BP to pay a some 20-billion-dollar compensation fund for the well explosion at the Gulf of Mexico, since U.S. officials concluded this week that the root causes of the disaster were repeated failures of management on the part of BP and some other companies involved.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

2 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。