Speaking at the opening of the Arctic Economical Forum, Deputy head of the Shtokman Development AG Kirill Molodtsov said the decision on the offshore part of the Shtokman project will be taken in March next year while the onshore part will be decided by the end of 2011.
The onshore part will be a gas processing plant in Teriberka on the coast of the Kola Peninsula. From Teriberka the Shtokman natural gas will be sent southwards in a pipeline to connect to the North Stream pipeline going from Vyborg to Germany.
Few believe the originally planned LNG-plant in Teriberka will be included in the first phase of the project.
The Shtokman project will be the largest industrial project north of the Arctic Circle ever in history. At the Economical Forum in Murmansk on Thursday, Gazprom officials said between 600 and 800 Russian and foreign companies will be involved in the construction, either directly or as suppliers of different installations, equipment or services.
The large-scale Economical Forum in Murmansk takes place for the second time. Petroleum- and other business participants from Russia, Norway, France, United Kingdom, Canada and Finland follow the forum with interest.
Read all about last year’s Murmansk Economical Forum.
Norwegian Statoil and French Total are partners with Russia’s Gazprom in Shtokman Development AG.
Speaking about the progress in the Shtokman plans, Kirill Molodtsov said it is very important not to make a mistake now.
- That’s why we are so thoroughly studying experience of related organisations of Western countries, first of all Norway and France that have rich experience in the construction and exploitation of oil and natural gas enterprises in the conditions of extremely low temperatures, Molodtsov said quoted by Itar-Tass.
