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Shell may join Shtokman offshore field dvlpmnt project, says source

Gazprom has a 51% stake in the Shtokman project

St PETERSBURG, June 22 (Itar-Tass) – Shell corporation may join the project for development of the giant Shtokman offshore gas deposit in the Barents Sea if it gets a proposal from the Norwegian corporation Statoil, a source at Gazprom told Itar-Tass Thursday.

Three major international corporations -- Statoil, Shell and Totale – kick off trilateral talks on the Shtokman project next week.

According to the source, Statoil has sent a letter to Gazprom saying it is ready to get down to participation in the project in cooperation with Shell as a majority partner and it proposes to Gazprom to begin trilateral talks on the issue.

Statoil’s proposal was discussed at a meeting in the format of the St Petersburg World Economic Forum.

Gazprom gave consent to the start of the talks considering the fact that the effective agreement with Totale is about to expire.

Gazprom has a 51% stake in the Shtokman project.