Norway sees pause after Barents Sea gas field start
Date: 02-Nov-01
Country: UK
Einar Steensnaes said the pause "for a couple of years" would enable the Norwegian government to assess the impact of the project on the climate, fishing and the environment generally before considering new developments in the area.
The minister said last month the 46 billion Norwegian crowns ($5.22 billion) Statoil project would not be postponed by the new centre-right coalition government that replaced Labour.
"We'll have Snoehvit first; before going further we're going to look at all the consequences of the development, year to year," he said during a Norway oil and gas conference in London.
"We will have to take time to safeguard the climate, fishing and the environment," he added.
Steensnaes said he did not envisage any delay in the startup of Snoehvit, and expected the Norwegian parliament to give its seal of approval for the project in time for its scheduled startup on March 1, 2002.
In a deal announced in October, El Paso will buy 2.4 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Snoehvit gas per year, while Iberdrola would purchase 1.6 bcm for a total value of around 4.0 billion Norwegian crowns per year, based on an average price of 1.0 crown per cubic metre.
The deals were signed under a pre-condition that the Norwegian parliament and relevant authorities approved the project.
The Snoehvit consortium, led by Statoil as operator, will also sell volumes totalling 1.7 bcm to partners Gaz de France and TotalFinaElf .
Snoehvit, estimated to hold 320 billion bcm of gas at a total value of 125 billion crowns, will be developed as a subsea tie-back to onshore production facilities with an LNG plant near the world's northernmost city Hammerfest.
Environmentalists are opposed to Snoehvit, the first development in the Arctic Barents Sea, because of the project's potential harm to the region's fragile ecological system.
Operator Statoil holds a 22.29 percent stake in Snoehvit, while the Norwegian state holds 30 percent, Norsk Hydro 10 percent, TotalFinaElf 18.40 percent, Gaz de France 12 percent, Amerada Hess 3.26 percent, RWE-DEA 2.81 and Svenska Petroleum 1.24 percent.
