TNK-BP, BNP Paribas sign Russian carbon deals

* Companies to collaborate on Russian CO2-cutting projects

* BNP Paribas expects carbon offsets delivered in H1 2010

LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Russian oil company TNK-BP (TNBPI.RTS: Quote, Profile, Research) and French bank BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) signed two deals on Friday to trade Kyoto Protocol carbon offsets and develop new projects to cut greenhouse gases, BNP Paribas said.

BNP Paribas will buy an undisclosed number of offsets, called Emissions Reduction Units (ERUs), to be delivered in the first half of 2010, BNP's head of power, gas and emissions trading Simon Dent told Reuters.

The ERUs will be generated by the Samotlorneftegas project, which will capture and produce energy from an estimated 90 million cubic metres of previously flared gas at the Siberian Samotlor oil field.

Dent said the project is expected to generate around 900,000 tonnes of ERUs by 2012, the year Kyoto expires.

The second agreement will see two new emissions reduction projects developed by TNK-BP and BNP Paribas, one a new low-carbon power plant and the other a project to capture more natural gas. The companies would not disclose the number of ERUs to be generated by these projects.

"With this signature, both the French and Russian authorities demonstrate their belief that Joint Implementation projects can be successfully developed in Russia, and we expect formal approval very soon," said Sylvain Goupille, Deputy Head of Carbon Finance at BNP Paribas. Under Kyoto's Joint Implementation (JI) scheme, companies can invest in clean energy projects in countries that have signed up to targets under the international climate pact, and in return receive ERUs which can be sold for profit.