RusEnergy

02 March 2007 - Upstream onLine - The governor of Russia's northern Murmansk region said today that the country lacked the technology to develop the Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea, and would need help "from its neighbours". Yuri Yevdokimov told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta that the project faced major obstacles, including its distance from shore and the challenges posed by drifting Arctic Ocean ice, the website barentsobserver.com reported. The Shtokman field is located about 600 kilometres off Russia's northern coast. Yevdokimov said the initial costs of the field would be about $70 billion.