Russia\'s second-largest oil company Lukoil said Monday that it will take part in tenders this year to develop oil and natural gas projects in Kazakhstan\'s sector of the Caspian Sea. Lukoil\'s president Vagit Alekperov met Kazakhstan\'s President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan Monday and discussed creating a joint venture with the country\'s state oil and gas company KazMunayGaz to work on projects in the Caspian, Lukoil said in a statement. \"We have every reason to expect long-term and effective cooperation with the Republic of Kazakhstan in the oil and gas industry,\" Alekperov said, according to the statement. Alekperov also met with KazMunayGaz President Lyazzat Kiinov and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kazakh oil company. \"We again confirmed our principal position that development of great oil and gas reserves in Kazakhstan can only be effective through active cooperative work with the national company,\" Alekperov said after signing the memorandum. Lukoil currently takes part in three Kazakh projects Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kumkol. Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement last year on dividing the northern part of the resource-rich Caspian Sea. The US government and multinational oil companies are also eager to play a role in developing the Caspian\'s energy resources, believed to be the third-largest in the world. (AP)