The shareholders in the big Shtokman gas project in the Russian sector of the Barents Sea will meet on March 29 to see if they can agree the final investment decision, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told journalists following a meeting on the gas industry chaired by Prime Minister and president-elect Vladimir Putin.
"The meeting is on March 29. Wait for its outcome," Miller said when asked if the final investment decision would be approved before the end of March, as planned.
Gazprom along with French Total and Norwegian Statoil had planned to make the final investment decision before the end of 2011. But Total and Statoil have withheld their approval pending an offer of substantial tax breaks from the Russian government.
Gazprom has a 51% stake in project operator Shtokman Development AG, Total has 25% and Statoil – 24%.
The Shtokman field is located 600 kilometers northeast of Murmansk in waters up to 340 meters deep. The C1 resource in the license territory amounts to 3.8 trillion cubic meters of gas and 53.4 million tons of condensate. The multi-billion dollar project includes construction of a gas pipeline to shore and construction of an LNG plant.
Miller also said the gas giant may exceed its production target of 529.5 billion cubic meters of gas in 2012. Gazprom produced 513 bcm of gas in 2011, compared with target of 206 bcm, he said.
