Shtokman-development plans remain on track
-Shtokman is not being further delayed, says Total’s senior vice-president for Continental Europe and Central Asia Arnaud Breuillac.
The final investment decision is expected next year. French Total and Norwegian Statoil are partners with Russia’s Gazprom in the Shtokman Development, the consortium set up to explore the huge natural gas field in the Barents Sea.
The consortium has decided to split its development with a final decision on gas extraction in March 2011. A decision on liquefaction of the gas will come nine months later.
Interviewed by Dow Jones & Company, Breuillac said Total expects LNG from Shtokman to be produced from 2017. -The existence of unconventional gas won’t deter Total from conventional natural gas sources, notably in Russia and Central Asia such as Shtokman, Breuillac said.
The current weakness of natural gas prices and the drop in demand won’t have an impact on Total’s natural gas investments decisions either, Breuillac said.
