Norway frontrunner for Shtokman

Gazprom plans to pick another partner by mid-October to develop the giant Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea in the Arctic.

Russia regards the field, the largest in the world, as a strategic asset. The five companies it had originally short-listed as potential partners -- ConocoPhillips, ChevronTexaco, Total, Statoil and Norsk Hydro -- were instead invited to participate as subcontractors. Most said ‘no thanks’, although Total has been allowed to book reserves from the field through a specially created company that will develop the field.

To supply the United States, as originally envisaged, the Shtokman gas would have to be liquefied.  Gazprom needs foreign technology for this purpose and that points to the Norwegians, who have recently held high-profile talks in Moscow. They are likely to have an edge given their successful launch of the Snovit field off the Arctic coast of Norway.