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Gazprom, Shell 'close' to deal on Sakahalin-2: Medvedev
AFP
MOSCOW
Petroleumworld.com 12 13 06Russian natural gas company Gazprom and Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell are "close to agreement" on a deal in which Gazprom could buy as much as 50-percent of the huge Sakhalin-2 energy project, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday.
"The shape of the final accord is not fixed, but according to information coming from Gazprom, the parties are close to agreement on the way in which Gazprom could enter," Medvedev told journalists.
"This could be a 50 percent stake, or a little smaller stake," Medvedev said. "We are discussing conditions for entry -- how much, the projects costs -- and all this is in active phase of discussion."
Medvedev said that high-ranking representatives of Gazprom, Shell and the Russian government were meeting this week.
Shell holds a 55 percent stake in the 22-billion-dollar (16.6-billion-euro) project. Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold 25 percent and 20 percent respectively.
Shell hit a deadlock in 2005 in talks with Gazprom on trading a share of Sakhalin-2 for onshore Gazprom gas assets.
Analysts describe a sustained campaign of pressure by government environmental regulators against the Sakhalin investors as part of Gazprom's strategy of muscling in on the project.
AFP 12 2056 GMT 12 06
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