OREANDA-NEWS. A Framework Agreement on the Main Conditions of cooperation at the first phase of Shtokman gas condensate field development was signed today at the OAO Gazprom Head Office by Alexander Ananenkov, Acting Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Christophe de Margerie, President of Total S. A. holding, and Yury Komarov, Director General of Sevmorneftegaz.

Under the Agreement, the parties will establish a special-purpose company to manage engineering, financing, construction and exploitation of installations at the first phase of Shtokman field development. The company will be the owner of this infrastructure during 25 years, starting from the moment the field is put on stream.

The Gazprom stake in the new company’s authorized capital will be 75 per cent, while Total will receive 25 per cent. Upon completion of the exploitation period of Shtokman’s first phase, Total will hand over its stake to Gazprom.

The Agreement envisions a possibility to attract other international partners with the cumulative involvement up to 24 per cent, with a respective change of the Gazprom stake to 51 per cent.

100 per cent of shares in the company holding the license for the Shtokman field (i.e. Sevmorneftegaz), as well as all the rights for marketing of the commodities will be retained by Gazprom.

At the initial development phase it is envisioned to produce 23.7 bcm of natural gas per year, with startup of gas deliveries via the pipeline in 2013, and LNG supply - in 2014.

Relations between the special-purpose company and Sevmorneftegaz will be governed by a contract, by which the new company will bear all financial, geologic and technical risks involved in extraction of natural gas and condensate, as well as in LNG production.

In was agreed to begin the teamwork on the project implementation in July of the current year.