Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is our first meeting in 2011, so I would like to wish you a happy New Year. I hope we will meet again this year. I know that your company and Rosneft, one of the leaders of the Russian oil and gas industry, have signed far-reaching agreements on cooperation on sea shelf projects in Russia and third countries. I would like to inform you that the Russian government will support this cooperation, which promises to acquire a great scope and have a significant impact on the entire global oil and gas industry.

Oil deposits are roughly estimated at 5 billion tonnes, and gas at 10 trillion cubic metres. These are only deposits, of course. We know that these are critical figures that require proof. However, they appear quite realistic. I am confident that these resources will eventually turn into reserves. Such work demands billions of dollars – tens of billions – of investment and the latest technology.

I know that the Rosneft and BP stock went up last night, on which I congratulate you. We are aware of the risks we run and, in this connection, we welcome the idea of creating a special research centre for the assessment of sea shelf projects.

We also know the problems BP encountered in the Gulf of Mexico recently, but then experience is the best teacher.

More than that, our experts have studied the drama in the Gulf of Mexico closely. We know that BP organised the project but it involved eight or more subcontractors, major American companies among them, which means that when we implement a shelf project together, we should analyse all aspects of the work as closely as possible from the outset, including the design stage.

The Russian government intends to establish the most favourable taxation and administrative terms for those projects.

Robert Dudley, British Petroleum CEO (as translated): Mr Prime Minister, thank you for seeing us. This is our first meeting this year, so I would like to wish you and your team every success and a good start in the New Year.

BP has been working in Russia for twenty years. That is a quite a long time, and we think we have been successful, on the whole. I hope that you, too, find the project successful from your perspective, the perspective of Russian national and public interests.

BP closely cooperates with its Russian partners on shelf projects in Sakhalin, in particular, with Rosneft on the Sakhalin project. This is a long-established, close and lasting cooperation, and we hope it will naturally continue and develop into real partnership as we implement future projects.

We look forward to close cooperation with Rosneft on projects of impressive scope not only for bilateral cooperation but also in the global context, and not only in the Arctic but also in other parts of the world.

The Arctic abounds in opportunities and resources. You were quite right to say that the latest technology is necessary to develop that region and implement projects there. It is necessary to establish research centres that would design such projects. You were also right to say that work in the Arctic demands the greatest environmental care.

Perhaps the projects to be implemented in St Petersburg, Murmansk and other places will be stages in our cooperation to create Russia's major infrastructure.

Mr Prime Minister, you were right to say that last year was a difficult period for BP. The oil spill disaster shook the company. It was a shock to us. However, it also brought positive results. We carefully studied this experience and drew necessary conclusions. We intend to closely cooperate with our partners as we share that experience with them in great detail to ensure that the entire company's operation and all joint projects are as safe as possible and their management is at the highest level.

I hope that this cooperation of BP and Rosneft will be a powerful signal of the opportunities for investment cooperation with Russia.

Vladimir Putin: It is true that we have been working together for many years and we are satisfied with our teamwork. We trust in your expertise, and we have long seen how seriously you take your business.

I wish you every success in this ambitious project, as everywhere else.

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Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, Deputy Chief of Government Staff Yury Ushakov and Rosneft President Eduard Khudainatov attended the meeting.