Russia’s Gazprom Plans Big Sales To U.S.

Five Western groups have been short-listed to help develop the Shtokman field, which contains 113 trillion cubic feet of gas — enough for 25 years of Russian gas exports to Europe. The five are Chevron, Phillips-Conoco, Statoil and Hydro from Norway, and France’s Total. Two, or at most three, would be picked as partners, Medvedev said, and “the final decision will rest on access to downstream and midstream facilities.” This means that the successful Western partners will have to be ready to share their distribution and marketing networks with Gazprom.