Yarantsev loses faith in Shtokman
Mayor Valery Yarantsev of Teriberka was promised a bright future when Gazprom decided to make his coastal village home to the huge processing plant for the Shtokman natural gas. –I do not believe in Shtokman any more, Yarantsev says today.
The pipe with natural gas from the world’s largest known offshore natural gas field is supposed to go onshore in Teriberka on the coast of the Kola Peninsula. Today, Teriberka is small more like a ghost town with very little signs of its coming boost in development as promised by Gazprom. The traditional fishing village has little business and mainly consists of pensioners.
Of the 52 buildings still populated in Teriberka, 39 have officially been confirmed as unsuitable for living, according to local authorities.
The construction of a gas plant could turn Teriberka from being just-another-abounded-village in northern Russia to becoming an industrial gas-hub for Europe’s future energy demands. The to-be-constructed pipe from Teriberka is supposed to deliver natural gas to the North Stream pipeline from Vyborg to Greifswald in Germany. The laying of the North Stream pipes started earlier in April.
Read also: Gazprom discussed design of Teriberka
In the first plans, the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea should be in production from 2013. But, some few months ago, the partners in the Shtokman Development Group, Gazprom, Total and Statoil decided to postpone the startup until 2016 for pipeline gas production.
Some analysts say the entire Shtokman project is in jeopardy due to falling gas prices on the world marked. Others believe Shtokman will come, but without the initial plans to build a liquefaction plant for the gas.
- I do not believe in Shtokman anymore. I heard talk about it back in the 1980s. It did not happen then, and it is even less likely to happen now, says Teriberka Mayor Valery Yarantsev in an interview with Reuters published this week. Yarantsev represents the communist party and became famous in 2005 when he ran away from the Norwegian Coast Guard after having been caught in illegal fishing with his trawler in the Barents Sea.
-You can throw billions at it (Shtokman), but it will not work, Yarantsev now says to Reuters.
Read also: Teriberka asks Gazprom for help
In a video-news story posted at Russia Today on Thursday another villager in Teriberka says. - I think that the project will be good for us, but we have had many hopes for a bright future over the years. There’s been a lot of disappointment. And there is a lack of belief that things can really approve, the villager says.
But still, Russian officials say there are no doubt that Shtokman will be realized. Visiting Murmansk on Saturday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made it very clear: - In the spring next year the investment decision should be made, and immediately afterwards, the work on development of this field will start, Putin told Murmansk governor Dmitri Dmitrienko.
