”There has been written in Norwegian media that Gazprom has ended the Shtokman project. This is not correct. Gazprom has no plans of stopping this project”, says Krivorotov who is head of corporate affairs in Shtokman Development Company.
This week he was invited to the environment organization Bellona´s seminar on oil and gas development on the Arctic shelf.
Gathering information
Krivorotov sees the current situation as a possibility to build a better Shtokman project, where they also have the chance to implement new technical solutions.
He emphasizes the fact that Statoil did not withdraw themselves directly from the project, but had to give up their share to the Shtokman Development Company due to commitments they could not fulfil longer.
“Statoil is still interested in the Shtokman project and follow the development. So we hope to cooperate with them again on a later stage”
Subsea solutions are under constant development with improvments which will cope better in Arctic environment. Such developments are important for Shtokman’s future.
”Shtokman Development Company is now gathering all information about the project. This will give us a far better understanding of the complexity of this project and a far better fundament for developing it into a new phase.”
Rising gas prices
The Russian government is about to decide on legislative changes which will give tax relief for production on Russian continental shelf. Taxation is a fact foreign oil companies have criticised.
The drop in global gas prices due to the shale gas revolution in USA is one out of several explanations to why the Shtokman project is put on hold, Krivorotov explains. However, according to his information there is strong believe in higher gas prices in the years to come.
“Today´s gas prices differ depending on which market you are selling to. And nobody really knows how long the shale gas revolution will last, which of course will strongly influence the global market price on LNG-gas. “
Even if the gas prices remain unchanged, Krivorotov, believe the work of reorganization the project will give a new start for Shtokman. With new technology and better legislation there is good possibility for realizing this project, says Krivorotov.
