- We do everything so that it takes place by the end of the year or at the start of next year. The answer of the Russian authorities to our requests regarding tax conditions will be a factor for the final investment decision. But I don’t expect them to refuse, says the head of Total’s exploration and production division Yves-Louis Darricarrere interviewed by Dow Jones Newswires.
Darricarrere says the project is both “technically challenging” and “expensive” and therefore is tax breaks critical for the partners in order to make a positive investment decision.
At a Norwegian, Russian business seminar in Moscow earlier in November, Shtokman partner Statoil said it even clearer:
- The project as it is today is not commercially viable, Jan Helge Skogen said. He is head of Statoil in Russia. A Russian government guarantee of tax breaks for the Shtokman gas field is urgently required if a final investment decision in the project is to be made before the end of the year as planned, BarentsObserver reported.
Read also: Russia will lose USD 120 billion without Shtokman
Such tax breaks plan will most likely be put on the table by the Russian Government during December. The comprehensive package of tax breaks and other benefits for the companies operating on the Arctic shelf is now in piepline.
Total’s Yves-Louis Darrucarrere says they are ready to hand contracts for the offshore part of the project. - As for the onshore part of the project, we should be in a similar position by the end of the year, he said in the Dow Jones Newswires interview.
French Total is partner with Norwegian Statoil and Russia’s Gazprom in the Shtokman Development AG. The company will be the owner and operator of the project infrastructure during Phase 1 — for a period of 25 years from the start of field production.
