Shtokman Decision Delayed Again

Statoil's CEO, Helge Lund, has said that a final investment decision (FID) on the Shtokman project has been pushed back to 1 April 2012, to give the consortium greater time to negotiate tax breaks for the project.

"We can't commit for an investment of this magnitude unless we know the fiscal terms," Mr. Lund told Reuters in an interview.

This is not the first time the FID has been delayed for the Shtokman project. Last month, the Shtokman Devlopment AG decided to move the decision to March 2012. The FID had previously been expected to be reached by the end of 2011.

The Shtokman project has recently been marred with difficulties, frustrating the efforts to extract gas from what is considered the world's largest offshore gas field.

Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said last week that a planned LNG plant proposed for construction on the Russian Shtokman field could not be built while regional governments continue to press for the establishment of a special economic zone in the region.

"We can not build a LNG plant in Teriberka unless plans for the establishment of a special economic zone in the area are abandoned," he said.

Gazprom and Statoil are partners in the Shtokman project with a 51 per cent stake and a 24 per cent stake in the project respectively. Total holds the remaining stake in the project at 25 per cent.