Sovcomflot looks towards Shtokman
Russian shipping major Sovcomflot has signed a cooperation agreement with Gazprom subsidiary Gazflot. The deal is likely to secure the shipping company a significant stake in shipping connected with the development of Arctic hydrocarbon fields, among them the Shtokman project.
According to a press release from Sovcomflot, «the parties will work closely to develop logistical solutions for the transportation of oil and gas in the Arctic region». It also reads that Sovcomflot will assist Gazflot in procuring offshore drilling and production equipment and tonnage for the future development of the project.
The agreement is another clear signal of Sovcomflot’s ambitions in North. The first major challenge for the company will be the Shtokman project, where Gazprom and its project partners are expected to need a major number of new LNG tankers.
As previously reported by BarentsObserver, Sovcomflot in 2006 got a 434 million USD loan for the construction of Arctic tankers.
The company has also signed cooperation agreements with the Murmansk Oblast administration and the Sevmorneftegaz company over the transportation of oil from the Prirazlomnoe field.
The Sovcomflot Group is one of Russia’s largest infrastructural enterprises. Its fleet comprises 124 vessels with a total deadweight of 8,7 million tonnes. The Group has a new-building order book of 31 vessels with an aggregate deadweight (DWT) of 2.8 million tonnes. The average age of the tanker fleet is six years, all tankers are double-hulled, the company’s website informs.
Sovkomflot last year merged with the Novoship company, thus forming the by far larges shipping enterprise in Russia
