Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said France's Total would become its partner in the giant Shtokman gasfield
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said France's Total would become its partner in the giant Shtokman gasfield.
However, Alexey Miller added that more partners could still join the project.
Besides Total, the project eyed such giants as ConocoPhillips, Chevron, Statoil and Norsk Hydro.
Total declined immediate comment on the news, which followed a telephone conversation between the Russian and French presidents Vladimir Putin and Nicolas Sarkozy. Its shares rose 0.6 per cent while shares of Norsk Hydro and Statoil spiked higher.
Gazprom chief executive Alexey Miller said in a statement Total would control 25pc of a company that will own the infrastructure of the field, located under the Arctic waters of the Barents Sea.
