Statoil: Shahdaniz gas sales `open issue`
The president of StatoilHydro in Russia said on
Monday that gas sales from the second phase of the project on
developing the Shahdaniz field in the Azerbaijan sector of the
Caspian Sea was ``an open issue``, Reuters reported.
Shahdaniz has been courted by Russian gas giant Gazprom and an EU-sponsored consortium working on the Nabucco gas pipeline, which is expected to rival Russian plans to supply Europe with fuel. ``We are continuously exploring all options to commercialize the fields, so we will be selecting the solution which provides the best commercial opportunity for the company,`` Bengt Lie Hansen told the Reuters Russia Investment Summit.
Asked whether the Shahdaniz partners, which include BP, would sell gas from the project`s second phase to Russia or to partners in the Nabucco pipeline project, he replied: ``I can only say that we are looking for the best options and that means it is an open issue.``
The second phase of Shahdaniz was delayed until 2016 due to a lack of progress on Nabucco transit agreements, the report said.
In June, the chief executive of Gazprom said the company was ready to begin buying small amounts of Shahdaniz gas from as early as next year to supply Russia`s southern regions.
The Russian company also said it might use the gas to export it to Europe.
StatoilHydro and BP control Shahdaniz, which produces some 15 million cubic meters of gas per day and has reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters. The Azeri state energy company SOCAR is also a partner, along with Russia`s LUKOIL, France`s Total and Iranian and Turkish state firms.
Shahdaniz has been courted by Russian gas giant Gazprom and an EU-sponsored consortium working on the Nabucco gas pipeline, which is expected to rival Russian plans to supply Europe with fuel. ``We are continuously exploring all options to commercialize the fields, so we will be selecting the solution which provides the best commercial opportunity for the company,`` Bengt Lie Hansen told the Reuters Russia Investment Summit.
Asked whether the Shahdaniz partners, which include BP, would sell gas from the project`s second phase to Russia or to partners in the Nabucco pipeline project, he replied: ``I can only say that we are looking for the best options and that means it is an open issue.``
The second phase of Shahdaniz was delayed until 2016 due to a lack of progress on Nabucco transit agreements, the report said.
In June, the chief executive of Gazprom said the company was ready to begin buying small amounts of Shahdaniz gas from as early as next year to supply Russia`s southern regions.
The Russian company also said it might use the gas to export it to Europe.
StatoilHydro and BP control Shahdaniz, which produces some 15 million cubic meters of gas per day and has reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters. The Azeri state energy company SOCAR is also a partner, along with Russia`s LUKOIL, France`s Total and Iranian and Turkish state firms.
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