URENGOI: Gazprom may drop plans to pipe gas from the huge Shtokman field in the Barents Sea, focusing instead on producing liquefied natural gas, the Russian firm’s deputy head said on Saturday. “‘LNG-only’ is being looked at as one of the possible decisions,” Alexander Medvedev said, the first time the firm has raised that possibility. Medvedev also did not rule out that the firm’s gas exports to Europe would stay unchanged at 150 billion cubic metres. Gazprom supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas needs. The Shtokman consortium – Gazprom with a 51% stake, France’s Total (25%) and Norway’s Statoil (24%) – has been mired in debate over the project’s future for several years, with tax breaks being the key issue. Under current tax rules, the economics of LNG are seen as superior to those of the pipeline option, with Russia having exempted all LNG projects from duty.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 8th, 2012.
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