Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell Group and Total have signed a $2 million landmarkdeal with oil producer Saudi Aramco for access to upstream natural gas reservesin Saudi Arabia. The exploration and development agreement means Shell and Totalare the first foreign oil firms in more than three decades to be allowed accessto such reserves.

The consortium will explore a natural gas area of more than 200,000 square kilometresin the southern part of the Rub al-Khali, which is almost as large as Great