Nice and icy: the Shtokman field lies deep in the Arctic
Gazprom names Shtokman date
Russian gas giant Gazprom confirmed today that pipeline gas exports from the massive Shtokman field, in the Barents Sea, will start in 2013, with liquefied natural gas exports pencilled in for 2014.
Gazprom made the statement after officially setting up a joint operating company to develop Shtokman's first phase together with France's Total and Norway's StatoilHydro.
"This project will serve the purpose of steady and secure gas supplies to Europe... By 2013 we will send 11 billion cubic metres per year of gas and in 2014 we will have volumes of 7.5 Bcm a year of LNG," Gazprom's head Alexei Miller said after signing the agreement at the company's Moscow headquarters.
The venture, created today after a two-month delay, will build and operate infrastructure at the gas deposit.
Gazprom will hold 51% in the Switzerland-registered venture, while Total and StatoilHydro will hold 25% and 24% respectively.
Gazprom wants to develop Shtokman, one of the world's biggest gas fields - with reserves estimated at 3.8 trillion cubic metres of gas and about 37 million tonnes of gas condensate - in four stages.
The first stage is expected to cost $15 billion.