Total Chief: Shtokman Agreement by End of Month

CEO of French major Total, Christophe de Margerie has said that he expects discussions on the Shtokman project to be completed by the end of this month.

CEO of Gazprom Alexey Miller said yesterday, that the talks, being held at the St. Petersburg's Economic Forum in Russia, will seek to resolve any issues the project has faced in the past few months. 

Speaking at the St. Petersburg Forum today, Mr. de Margerie said that the talks did not centre around a possible change to the project's line-up. He said he had no knowledge of any third partner--rumoured to be Shell--coming on-board at this time.

He also told reporters that Total was happy with its stake in the Shtokman Development AG consortium. Total is a 25 per cent stakeholder in the Shtokman Development AG, a consortium devised to develop the gas resources of the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea. Operator of the project Gazprom holds a 51 per cent stake while Norwegian Statoil holds the remaining 24 per cent stake.

Mr. de Margerie has previously indicated that he is very keen to discuss the project with Gazprom formally. Earlier this month, the Total CEO criticised the playing out of the Shtokman discussions in the media, saying he would be keen to talk with Gazprom directly.

"It would be good to talk to each other directly and not through the media," he said.

Miller also met with Helge Lund, President and Chief Executive Officer of Statoil to discuss the positions of their respective companies in preparation for a new agreement for the Shtokman project.