British oil major BP is to buy more almost £900million of crude oil from Russian giant Rosneft.
The Kremlin-controlled giant said it was to sell more than 2million tonnes of crude oil to BP in a deal worth $1.5billion (£893million).
The move comes amid increased scrutiny over oil deals between western companies and Russia in the wake of the ongoing Ukraine crisis.
Last week BP chief executive Bob Dudley said the company could act as a bridge in efforts to ease tensions between Russia and western Europe.
The firm enjoys close relations to Russia, with more than a quarter of its output and a third of the company’s reserves tied to the country.
Rosneft did not disclose the timing of the deal, but said it had approved plans to sell up to 840,000 tonnes of crude oil under its Novorossiisk terms, with the rest under Primorsk terms, with BP assuming hsipping costs.
Last year it sold more than $15billion (£8.9billion) in crude oil and products to BP.
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