RusEnergy

05-20-2005 Reuters - Norway's Norsk Hydro wants to take a 20 percent stake in the vast offshore Shtokman gas field, a spokesman for the firm said on Thursday, up from the 15 percent it had been seeking. Norsk Hydro is one of crowd of energy firms lining up to partner Gazprom in developing the Shtokman field, which has estimated reserves of 3.2 trillion cubic meters of gas and 31 million tons of condensate. Norsk Hydro said it was offering Gazprom terms in line with a memorandum of understanding signed in December, in which Norsk Hydro said Gazprom could get a stake in projects including its Ormen Lange development. Norsk Hydro's competitors for the Shtokman work include its compatriot Statoil, which has told Gazprom it wants 25 percent of Shtokman in return for 10 percent in its Snoehvit field. Other hopefuls are ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, Total and Royal Dutch/Shell.