Gazprom buys western part of Shtokman Field

The Russian government has decided to issue a license for exploration and extraction of resources from the western part of the Shtokman Gas Field in the central part of the Barents Sea, Neft Rossii reports.

The document was signed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on February 6.

The Shtokman Gas Field is in the center of the shelf zone of the Russian sector of the Barents Sea, about 600 km north-east of Murmansk. The Barents Sea has a depth of 340 meters. Shtokman holds about 3.9 trillion cubic meters of gas and 56.1 million tons of gas condensate, making it a C1-type of fields. Gazprom now controls an area with 3.8 trillion cubic meters of gas and 53.4 million tons of gas condensate.

In late December, Shtokman Development Ag, a company operating the field, postponed making of an investment decision from late 2011 to March 2012. Shareholders believe that a lot more studies need to be made until the final investment decision.

Gazprom owns 51% of share in the project, Total (France) – 25%, Statoil (Norway) – 24%.