Gazprom in talks on Shtokman project future
Gazprom is continuing negotiations on the future of Shtokman gas project, the Company press office said. Gazprom did not disclose any details.
Earlier, some media reported quoting Vsevolod Cherepanov, head of Gazprom's production department that Gazprom has agreed with France's Total and Norway's Statoil to put the flagship Shtokman project on ice as its costs are too high.
The Shtokman field is located in the central part of the Russian sector of the Barents Sea. The giant Shtokman's field holds an estimated 3.8 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 53.3 million metric tons of gas condensate, where Gazprom plans to build a liquefied natural gas plant. Gazprom Neft Shelf (formerly SevMorNefteGaz, a 100-percent subsidiary of Gazprom) licensed Shtokman field for geological prospecting and production of gas and gas condensate.
Gazprom's partners in the Shtokman project are Total (France) and Statoil (Norway). In February 2008 Gazprom, Total and StatoilHydro signed a stockholders' agreement to establish Shtokman Development AG joint venture (reg. in Swiss’ Zug) for design, development, construction, financing and operation of the first phase of the Shtokman field. GazProm holds a 51% stake, Total - 25%, 24% - by StatoilHydro. The companies have confirmed their intention to adopt in March, 2011 an investment decision over the project’s first phase to supply products from Shtokman to Gazprom’s gas transportation system. The Shtockman was reportedly due to be launched in 2016. Later, the media reported that the beginning of Shtokman development had been cancelled.
