Norwegian oil companies Statoil and Norsk Hydro are to meet this week with Russian Natural Resources Minister
Norwegian oil companies Statoil and Norsk Hydro are to meet this week with Russian Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev to discuss the development of 3.2 trillion cubic meter gas Shtokman field, owned by Russian gas producer Gazprom, the company?s officials said.
Both companies are eager to win a major stake in the Shtokman project, and have signed Memorandums of Understanding with Gazprom to study potential partnerships.
Trutnev is also visiting his Norwegian counterpart Thorhild Widvey on Wednesday. Both will meet with the press later in the day.
Widvey and the Russian oil ministry's general director Sergei Oganesyan last week said they intended to strengthen cooperation between the countries, in particular in development of the Barents Sea. The untapped province is estimated to hold around 40 billion barrels of oil equivalent petroleum.
"Russia really needs the expertise gathered by Norwegian industry and subcontractors on the Norwegian Continental Shelf," Oganesyan said.
