Statoil proposes eliminating surface infrastructure in Shtokman development
MURMANSK. Nov 21 (Interfax) - Norway's Statoil is recommending that the operator of the project to develop the huge Shtokman offshore gas condensate field in the Barents Sea use underwater extraction technology, Statoil's vice president in Russia, Per Kjaernes said Tuesday at the international conference Arctic Shelf Development: Step by Step in Murmansk.
Underwater extraction and treatment is a way to eliminate the need for a platform. Putting all this underwater is very important, particularly for the Arctic, and doable, including at Shtokman, Kjaernes said.
He cited Ormen Lange and Snohvit as successful examples of fields with underwater development, adding that the problems at the latter were not due to underwater development technology.
The advantage of underwater technologies is particularly important in the Arctic, at more deepwater fields, with greater distances from shore, lack of infrastructure and harsh environments, Kjaernes said.
Alexander Mandel, chief executive of Gazprom Dobycha Shelf, the Gazprom subsidiary that holds the license to the Shtokman field, supported Kjaernes' proposal. In his report, Mandel said that "in the Arctic, underwater technologies, unmanned technologies should be used wherever possible."
It was reported earlier that the participants in the Shtokman project are discussing the possibility of extracting the gas without using a floating production unit that could avoid the icebergs roaming the Barents Sea.
Gazprom , Total and Statoil signed a shareholder agreement in February 2008 to create Shtokman Development, with Gazprom holding 51% of shares, Total 25% and Statoil 24%. The purpose of this company was to finance and build infrastructure to deliver Shtokman gas to the shore and liquefy it as part of the project's first phase. Gazprom intended to implement the second and third phases of the project by itself.
According to the framework agreements with the foreign companies, if a final investment decision was not made on Shtokman by the end of their validity, Gazprom had the right to demand that the partners give back their stakes in Shtokman Development. An investment decision was not approved, and Gazprom demanded that the partners give back their stakes. Statoil returned the shares and wrote off NOK2.1 billion (about $340 million) in expenses. Total, which was first to join the project and had a technical veto, has still not handed back its shares.
Both Total and Statoil have said that they still want to remain a part of the Shtokman project.
The Shtokman field, located in the center of the shelf zone in the Russian part of the Barents Sea, about 600 km northeast of Murmansk, is one of the world's biggest natural gas field, with C1 category reserves of 3.9 trillion cubic meters of gas and 56.1 million tonnes of gas condensate, including respectively 3.8 trillion cubic meters and 53.4 million tonnes within the boundaries of Gazprom's license area.
