Total postpones Shtokman decision until end of 2010
A final investment decision on the Shtokman gas field is impossible before the end of 2010 due to problems with financing, says project member Total.
- In the current conditions, it is absolutely normal that the project is taking more time than was initially planned, said Arnaud Breuillac, Total’s vice-president for exploration and production in Central Europe and Continental Asia, according Reuters.com.
The investment decision was originally planned to be taken during the first quarter of 2010.
A delay in the project has also been predicted by Total Vice President Jean-Jacques Mosconi, who recently said that production of gas will start at the field only in 2015, and that the first LNG will be delivered in 2016, asBarentsObserver reported. The French petroleum company Total owns 25 percent of the stocks in Shtokman Development AG.
Gazprom officials have also indicated the previous deadline could slip. The company’s deputy chief executive Alexander Medvedev told reporters in September that Gazprom could delay Shtokman if gas demand in Europe doesn’t recover fast enough.
