A recommendation to seek an offical go-ahead for plans to develop and operate the Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea has been put by operator Statoil to its partners.
The group is also recommending that the plan for installation and operation of an associated land-based plant for gas liquefaction be sent to the authorities.
Snøhvit project director Egil Gjesteland says that a decision will be taken next week, after the partnership has had time to consider the Statoil proposals.
This field could be the first offshore development in the Barents Sea, and the first project in Europe to be based on exports of liquefied natural gas.
Plans call for gas and condensate to be recovered through subsea installations controlled from a landing and export terminal at Melkøya near Hammerfest in western Finnmark county.
The project is costed at NOK 46 billion in current money.
Statoil has 22.29 per cent of Snøhvit, while the state’s direct financial interest (SDFI) is 30 per cent.
The other partners are TotalFinaElf with 18.4 per cent, Gaz de France with 12 per cent, Norsk Hydro with 10 per cent, Amerada Hess with 3.26 per cent, RWE DEA with 2.81 per cent and Svenska Petroleum with 1.24 per cent.