RusEnergy

13.12.2006 – MosNews - Norwegian oil and gas companies Hydro and Statoil said on Wednesday, Dec. 13, that they are still willing to join Gazprom’s multi-billion Shtokman gas project in Russia’s Arctic Barents Sea even on new terms offered by the Russian giant. As MosNews has reported, Hydro and Statoil were among five candidates that were short-listed by Gazprom to develop the massive Shtokman field. However, in October the Russian gas monopoly declared that it would develop the gas deposit on its own. Last week, however, Russian officials have reversed their opinion and said that Gazprom will welcome certain participation from the foreign partners but only in exchange for lucrative assets, which include access to downstream markets in Europe and the United States. Representatives of both Hydro and Statoil have attended a Moscow roundtable discussion on Wednesday. Discussion was dedicated to mineral and energy resources of the Russian Arctic shelf, where the Shtokman is located. Oivind Rekdal, commercial manager at Hydro Russia, told RIA Novosti: “Our company is looking forward to working on the Russian shelf, namely in the Kara and Barents Seas.” Rekdal said Shtokman was the most attractive project, and added that Russia would need Norwegian technology to implement the project. Hydro already holds 40 percent in the Total-led Kharyaga oil field in northern Russia. Rekdal said the Gulf Stream prevented the Shtokman field from freezing but ice remained to the north of the gas deposit all the year round, or at least seasonally. He therefore named thick ice, the field’s remoteness from the shore and environmental risks as the main problems to overcome in the project. Anatoly Zolotukhin, technology director with Statoil Russia, said the Norwegian companies’ expertise would definitely come in handy in the project, and added that Statoil and Hydro were in talks with Gazprom over various models of cooperation. “We are now waiting for some information or some decision,” Statoil’s representative said.