Barents pipe 'in private hands'

Counting cost: private players on Barents pipe

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By Steve Marshall and news reports

 04 July 2012 15:12 GMT

The Norwegian government is reportedly refusing to provide financing for a proposed gas pipeline to the Barents Sea and is instead casting the investment ball to the private sector.

A proposal for an 1000-kilometre extension of Norway’s existing pipeline network to the Barents, estimated to cost $5 billion, is being backed by gas infrastructure agency Gassco.

However, Oil & Energy Minister Ola Borten Moe said at a recent industry conference in Trondheim that responsibility for financing the route would lie with partners in Barents licences, according to industry interest group PetroArctic.

This would imply financing would have to come from players including state-owned Statoil, which has made the Skrugard and Havis oil and gas discoveries, and French giant Total, with the Norvarg find.

A pipeline is seen as a necessary export route to…

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