Total is in talks to partner with Lukoil on its shale oil projects in Russia, as Moscow targets unconventional resources to replace falling production at ageing fields in Siberia. Lukoil, the largest private energy company in Russia, is exploring the giant but unproven Bazhenov formation, which holds the lion’s share of Russia’s shale oil reserves, estimated by the US Department of Energy to be the biggest in the world. People familiar with the matter said that Lukoil and the French oil major are discussing a joint venture to co-operate on the production of “difficult oil” in Russia – a category that includes shale oil. There is no guarantee that the talks would result in a deal, they added. Total and Lukoil declined to comment. The two companies have been discussing a tie-up since before Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the subsequent sanctions imposed on the country by the US […]