Russ Oil-Gas

25 September 2007 - Upstream OnLine - Norsk Hydro chief executive Eivind Reiten, who will become chairman of the merged StatoilHydro oil and gas company, said today he was optimistic the new group will play a role in Russia's huge Shtokman gas gield. "We are having dialogue with them ( Gazprom). I am optimistic but we are not there yet," Reiten said in a briefing for foreign journalists. Reiten visited Gazprom's headquarters in Moscow last week to discuss a role for the merged entity in Shtokman, the Barents Sea gas field in which France's Total has already been chosen as a western partner. "If you take those three areas - the Middle East, Australia and Iceland - you will pretty much have the optons for expansion," he said, referring to the aluminium business. ** StatoilHydro will develop leading technologies for Arctic drilling to protect the environment or stay out of the region, Reiten said. "It shouldn't be and will not be tolerated by any society that you harm this sensitive environment," Eivind Reiten told reporters. "On the other hand the drive for finding more energy means more exploration in these areas."