Total said that, together with its partners, it was studying ways to make Russia’s Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea economically viable after financing costs became too high, reported Reuters.
Total also told Reuters that the company and the partners have not decided to postpone the project indefinitely.
“The partners have come to the conclusion that the cost of the project with its current definition is too high. Consequently, the partners’ teams are pursuing technical studies to achieve an economically viable project,” says Total.
The top shareholder in the project, Gazprom, had said the Shtokman partners had decided it could not go forward for the time being because of the high costs.
[mappress]
Offshore Energy Today, August 31, 2012