Russia’s Rosneft has been awarded a five-year exploration licence for part of the offshore Sakhalin V block. This is an important step for the allliance of BP, OJSC NK Rosneft and Rosneft-Sakhalinmorneftegas, which was formed in 1998 to develop Sakhalin V hydrocarbons. Sakhalin island lies off the east coast of mainland Russia in the often…