Shtokman to produce first gas end 2013
PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) - Shtokman, a giant gas field in the Barents Sea, will start production at the end of 2013, said two executives involved in the project that is set to supply Europe and the United States with gas for decades.
"Shtokman will start producing gas at the end of 2013, and liquefied natural gas in 2014," Pierre Nerguararian, head of Total's (TOTF.PA) exploration and production business in Russia told reporters on Wednesday at an industry conference.
Yuri Komarov, head of Shtokman Development AG, the company developing the Arctic field, confirmed production will start in the second half of 2013, adding plateau output would be reached in 2020, in the first phase of the project.
Shtokman Development AG is 51-percent owned by Gazprom (GAZP.MM). French oil major Total has a 25-percent stake and Norway's StatoilHydro (STL.OL) the remaining 24 percent.
The project is expected to be developped in three phases running until 2060, but Komarov did not exclude a fourth phase beyond this date.
"It is not decided yet. It depends on the development of the first phase. We cannot exclude there will be one more phase, bringing total capacity to 95 billion cubic meters per year," Komarov said.
Shtokman, 650 kilometres from land in iceberg-strewn waters, was originally meant to be operational in 2003, but technology challenges, cost issues, and Russia's indecision about taking foreign partners, has delayed the $15-20 billion project.
The last official date for first gas was 2013.
Shtokman holds 3.8 trillion cubic metres of gas, enough to supply the entire world for more than a year.
The gas will be pumped ashore, where it will be further processed and piped on to Europe or liquefied and put on tankers going to Europe or the United States.
(Reporting by Muriel Boselli, Writing by Marie Maitre)
