Russia will lose USD 120 billion without Shtokman
Russia will fail to obtain more than USD 120 billion in case the Shtokman project is not realized, says Shtokman Development CEO Aleksey Zagorovsky.
If Russia fails to develop the enormous Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea, the country will miss incomes of more than USD 120 billion, Zagorovksy said at the forum “Gas Russia-2011”, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes.
According to Zagorovsky, Russian authorities are well aware of the need for tax relaxations for the Shtokman partners to be willing to invest in the project. All questions on technical solutions and tenders have been resoved, he says, and the share holders continue to discuss the economical part of the project.
A final investment decision on the project is expected to be made by the three share holder Gazprom (51 %), Total (25 %) and Statoil (24 %) by the end of the year.
As BarentsObserver reported, several Russian ministries and Russian oil companies are involved in preparing a comprehensive package of tax breaks and other benefits for the companies operating on the Arctic shelf. The list of measures not only includes the introduction of a zero-tax on oil, LNG and condensate export and on import of equipment and technology, but also significant other tax benefits.
Norwegian Statoil has expressed impatience with the Russian government on the tax breaks, claiming that the project is not commercially viable without significant fiscal relief.
