Foreign partners might get bigger role in Shtokman, Nord Stream
Gazprom, which in 2009 might see a 20 billion USD revenue reduction following lower international gas prices, considers to boost the role of foreign partners in projects like the Nord Stream and Shtokman.
The Russian energy giant considers to attract additional foreign financing, as well as to strengthen the role of foreign partners in the projects, newspaper Kommersant reports.
A source close to the Gazprom Board of Directors confirms to the newspaper that the company faces major income reduction from its gas exports following lower prices. Only from gas sales to Europe, the company could get 20 billion USD less revenues compared with 2008.
A new financial strategy which is to be presented at a board meeting 23 December will outline measures on how to cope in the period of crisis. Among those measures will be the search for new sources of financing for investment projects with a possible decreased stake of the company and a stronger inclusion of partners, Kommersant writes. The strategy will also open up for negotiations with project partners over their own financial contributions.
Gazprom has earlier said that it intends to compensate for the lower export revenues with higher domestic gas prices. However, this will alone far from stagger the company’s financial downturn.
Gazprom’s key foreign project partners are Total and StatoilHydro in the Shtokman project and BASF/Wintershall, E.ON Ruhrgas and Gasunie in the Nord Stream project. Both of these two projects are to be in operation in the near future, respectively in 2013 and 2011.
In addition, Gazprom is cooperating with ENI in the South Stream project, which is scheduled to be in operation after 2013.
Gazprom recently adopted its 2009 investment programme, which includes 920 billion RUB of investments. That programme could be revised already at the 23 December board meeting.
In a meeting in Kirkenes, Norway, last week, Norwegian oil and gas expert Johan Petter Barlindhaug indicated that Gazprom would be unable to develop both the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea and the Bovanenkovo field in Yamal at the same time, unless the agreements with the foreign Shtokman partners Total and StatoilHydro are revised and bigger foreign contributions are made.
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Shtokman, Yamal, or both? 16 December 2008
