Shell Considering Shtokman Move

The Shtokman project may be facing major stakeholder changes, with the rumours that Shell is interested in joining the project.

According to a reliable source quoted by Reuters news agency, the company has entered into talks to take a stake in the Russian project, with majority shareholder Gazprom to retain its stake.

"Talks regarding Shell’s participation in Shtokman are under way…" the source said. "There are different project configurations under discussion now but Gazprom will keep a 51 percent stake."

Though news has not yet been released as to where the additional stake would be derived, Total said earlier this week that it would retain its entire 25 per cent stake in the project. The assertion followed the news by Gazprom on Wednesday that it was reviewing the structure of the consortium.

"The target is to successfully conclude talks at the end of June," a spokeswoman told Reuters on Wednesday. "What we are discussing is the optimization of a 100-percent liquefied natural gas project.

The third partner in the consortium, Statoil, which holds a 24 per cent stake, has been increasingly vocal in its concerns over the future of the project as well as the financial aspects of the project.

Kommersant reports that CEO of Statoil Helge Lund is meeting today with CEO of Gazprom Alexey Miller and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Statoil's exit from the project.

Gazprom is expected to make a statement later today about the situation.