ON FEBRUARY 21, Gazprom, Total and StatoilHydro signed a historic shareholder agreement for the creation of a company to develop phase one of the giant Shtokman gas field in the Russian sector of the Barents Sea.
Gazprom holds a 51% stake in Shtokman Development AG, while Total holds 25% and StatoilHydro a 24% stake. The company is registered in Switzerland.
Shtokman Development AG will be organising the project engineering, development, construction, financing and exploitation of first-phase facilities related to the development of the Shtokman field.
The partners also indicated that front end engineering design (FEED) for the project is under way and is scheduled to be finished H2 2009, allowing a final investment decision to be made.
StatoilHydro said in a statement that, among other things, Russian and international subcontractors for FEED studies have already been identified and a site has been chosen for the technical and transportation complex near Teriberka, in the Murmansk region.