Gazprom again invites foreigners to Shtokman
The Shtokman field
Russian gas major Gazprom says it might establish a joint venture within the frames of the Shtokman gas project in the Barents Sea. The joint venture is to handle technical issues while the field licence will remain 100 percent controlled by Gazprom.
–We are returning to the principle of setting up a joint venture, Aleksandr Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman in the company’s management committee, said to journalists in a press conference today.
According to Rbc.ru, the high-ranking Gazprom official refused however to name potential partners for the joint venture, simply saying that the Shtokman negotiations are continuing. –The participation of foreign partners will be based on joint action in the field of technology, personnel and service operations, Mr. Ananenkov said. He repeated that Gazprom will not open for sharing the field license with other companies.
Today’s announcement from Mr. Ananenkov confirms previous speculations about Gazprom’s intention to let foreign companies get a share of its subsidiary company Sevmorneftegaz, the company which is the formal owner of the Shtokman license.
Mr. Ananenkov's statements might again raise hopes among foreign companies looking for Shtokman engagement. Among them is the new Norwegian oil and gas giant StatoilHydro company, currently being in middle of a merger process.
The Shtokman field is located about 600 km north of Murmansk, and has an estimated 3,7 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves.
