28 January 2010
the failure of the Shtokman project?
In what could only really be described as an amazing bit of news хибины.ru is reporting that Gazprom could be forced to abandon its ambitious plans for the development of the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea. There have been indications before that confidence in the project was shaky and, if these predictions are true, then this would be a massive blow to Russia’s Arctic ambitions as Shtokman was to play a vital role in its attempt to conquer the world’s gas market, and it was also to be a prelude to the development of gas extraction at Yamal. Putin will be very upset about this. It appears as though the West’s development of alternative sources – diversification - (I guess places like Quatar) has, for the time being, really worked.
The Norwegian expert who is breaking the news suggests that this means that the future industrial development of the Arctic will be confined to transport, logistics and fishing. ArcticRussia may have to close down one of its more exciting categories!
