Total offers Gazprom parts of stakes in three other projects in return for a stake in Shtokman. At least one of these projects is outside Russia. Also the Norwegian bidders Statoil and Hydro have expressed their interest in a 20 to 25 percent stake in Shtokman. The two US bidders Chevron and ConocoPhillips have not revealed their plans for the Shtokman project, RusEnergy informs.

A total of five foreign companies were put on Gazprom’s short-list for the huge Shtokman gas project in the Barents Sea in August this year. Gazprom is expected to make a final decision on which companies to include in the project this autumn.