Alexey Miller, chairman of Gazprom, and Jim Mulva, chairman and chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips, have met in Moscow to discuss a possible joint venture regarding the massive gas deposit.
The development represents a u-turn by the Russian gas major, as Gazprom had previously said that it would develop the gas field on its own. However, such is the scale of the project that many industry onlookers have expressed their lack of surprise that Gazprom is now interviewing for potential partners with global clout.
Shtokman contains an estimated 3.2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 31 million metric tons of gas condensate. It has been forecast that up to $14 billion will be needed to realize the project’s first phase, with production expected to begin in 2011. Other possible interested parties include Statoil, Total and ChevronTexaco.
