Our Arctic Neighbors: Norwegians plan Shtokman development

The world financial crisis isn’t deterring Norway’s largest bank from offering loans to develop the Shtokman natural gas field in the Russian part of the Barents Sea. DnB NOR Monchebank is prepared to render financial aid to speed up commissioning of the main facilities for Shtokman, the bank’s senior advisor, Bjorn Celius, said at an oil and gas conference in Murmansk in mid-November.

“There is a great demand for loans for more than five years, but the problem is that due to the situation on international markets the Russian banks find it challenging to grant such loans,” the bank’s deputy CEO, Konstantin Vinogradov, added in a release Nov. 13. “Being a subsidiary of DnB NOR ASA we are able to do so. We have been financing different projects in Murmansk, the terms of which are more than five years. Moreover, DnB NOR Monchebank is ready to grant banking guarantees for financially sustainable companies that will enable them to take part in and succeed in tenders arranged by oil and gas companies.”

Meanwhile, Norwegian industry association INTSOK (Norwegian Oil and Gas Partners) is considering Arkhangelsk Oblast, east of Murmansk Oblast, as a hub for delivering supplies for Shtokman. Arkhangelsk could be preferable to Murmansk because it has a more developed transportation system, particularly the railway, INTSOK’s regional manager in Russia, Vladimir Ryashin, said at a conference in Arkhangelsk Nov. 25.

—Sarah Hurst