Statoil Pins Its Hopes on Rich Snohvit Gas Project

The gas project Snohvit development in the Barents Sea and the Cove Point terminal on the east coast of the USA are the mainstay of Statoil's LNG strategy.

Irene Rummelhoff, senior vice president for the international gas cluster in the Natural Gas business area, said at the LNG forum during the Offshore Northern Seas exhibition and conference on 24 August :"Statoil is gaining important positions within liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is the fastest growing gas market in the world."

Ms. Rummelhoff points out that the Snohvit facilities will be the first LNG producer in Europe. Statoil also aims to find new gas resources in the Barents Sea in order to increase the capacity of the onshore Hammerfest LNG plant.

Parts of the Snohvit gas will be exported to the USA and US authorities have approved a twofold increase in the receiving capacity at Cove Point. From 2009 Statoil will supply the biggest gas market in the world with 10 billion cubic-meters of gas.

According to MS Rummelhoff LNG will also be an important contributor to Statoil's ambitions to produce 50 billion cubic-meters of gas by 2015. Statoil believes that LNG will become a considerable element in the group's marketing strategy.

The Snohvit development is a first step for Statoil in the development of the gas resources in the far north. The Snohvit technology and experience are important elements of Statoil's efforts to join field development projects in the Russian sector of the Barents Sea. Ms. Rummelhoff emphasizes that LNG gives increased flexibility for the gas producers as the volumes may be sent to different markets. The LNG spot market is also growing, which makes gas a global commodity.