Norsk Hydro Eyes Swapping Stakes With Gazprom

Norwegian energy giant Norsk Hydro proposed swapping shares of its Ormen Lange gas field in the North Sea for a 15 percent stake in Gazprom?s North European Gas Pipeline project, the Norsk Hydro manager for Ormen Lange said.

The Norwegian company began building the 1,200-km pipeline from its North Sea field to the British Isles this March, targeting a capacity of 24 billion cubic meters per year.

Sergei Kupriyanov, press secretary of the Russian gas monopoly, said that the Russian gas giant was interested in Hydro?s proposals, but that the company would take its time in looking them over.