Our Arctic Neighbors: Two green lights for Shtokman plans

Two government approvals came through in late September for the Shtokman field in Russia’s part of the Barents Sea, which is estimated to hold 130 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 31 million tons of condensate.

The first was from the Russian Federal Service for Environmental Supervision, which approved conclusions in an ecological survey for the two first stages of the development plan by operator Shtokman Development Co., a Swiss-registered joint venture of Gazprom (51 percent), Total (25 percent) and Statoil (24 percent).

RIA Novosti reported Sept. 23 that project documentation for phase 1A and 1B had been approved, which include underwater installations and connection to the floating production unit, a double underwater gas pipeline and a fiber-optic communication line.

The second authorization came Sept. 28 from the Russian Technical Control Agency, which approved Shtokman’s underwater production complex.

The Shtokman gas and condensate field — one of the biggest offshore fields of its kind — was discovered in 1988. The field is about 373 miles northeast of the city of Murmansk at sea depths varying from 1,050-1,116 feet.

Sevmorneftegaz, a 100 percent Gazprom subsidiary, holds the license to the project.

Shtokman gas will be shipped partly by pipeline, partly as liquefied natural gas, or LNG.

According to plans, the field will go into production in 2016.

The village of Teriberka, northeast of Murmansk, is the main hub for Shtokman operations.