Russ Oil-Gas

02-09-2007 - Upstream onLine - French oil and gas group Total is in talks with Russia's Gazprom about a potential role in developing the vast Shtokman gas field in the Arctic, French Industry Minister Francois Loos said. Russian gas giant Gazprom said last month it would offer contract work on Shtokman to the five western companies that previously bid unsuccessfully for stakes in the field, including Total and Norwegian energy group Statoil. "Total was on the shortlist and it is again in discussions with Gazprom. The question is what exactly is being offered by the Russians," Loos said. Loos said the involvement of Total and Gaz de France in Statoil's Snohvit gas project in the Barents Sea gave the French companies expertise needed for Shtokman. Total has an 18.4% stake and Gaz de France 12% of the Snohvit licence. "This (project) is very important in light of Shtokman," said Loos, who this weekend is scheduled to visit the Snohvit facilities on the far northern tip of Europe, Reuters reported. The $9.6 billion Snohvit project - including the only liquefied natural gas plant in the Arctic - is due to come on line in late 2007. In addition to Total and Statoil, the other foreign bidders for Shtokman were Norway's Norsk Hydro - soon to merge its oil and gas business with Statoil - and US supermajors ConocoPhillips and Chevron.