Several Norwegian companies are discussing the possible export of Norwegian gas extracted in the Barents Sea through the Nord Stream pipeline, Petro.no reports.
The discussion is gaining relevance as Norway makes more discoveries in its part of the Barents Sea. Last week, Statoil announced another major discovery in the region. The Havis field will together with the nearby Skrugard field constitute a new petroleum province, the company declared.
The discussion about the use of Russian infrastructure is increasingly relevant as the Shtokman field moves into a development phase. The field holds about 3,9 trillion cubic meters of gas and will result in the construction of both offshore and online pipelines as well as gas processing plants. Among the installations to be built is a pipeline stretching from the Barents Sea coast to the Baltic Sea where a connection will be made with the Nord Stream pipeline.
A number of new fields are expected to be discovered also in the formerly disputed waters in the region. As soon as the new delimitation line in the Barents Sea was ratified last year, Norwegian seismic vessels moved into the waters. The region is believed to be highly promising, the industry maintains.
Read more: Gazprom completes Nord-Stream line
Another alternative for the Norwegian side would be the extension of the of the existing Norwegian pipeline grid from the Norwegian Sea to the Barents Sea. The Norwegian industry is also considering to build solutions which enable the operators to move independently of pipelines.
Read also: Floating production unit for Barents oil
