"Norway and Russia are Europe's most important energy nations. That makes us natural partners," said Hydro's President & CEO Eivind Reiten in his presentation to the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Fradkov, on Tuesday. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was also present at Hydro's landmark site in Aukra, the land facility for Ormen Lange.
"The next big chapter in this partnership is the development of the Arctic areas, a region that will play a key role in energy supply in Europe and globally," said Reiten. He emphasised that President Putin’s acknowledgment of Norway as Russia’s strategic partner in this partnership is a great recognition of Norwegian oil and gas technology and cooperative platform.
"This is a recognition that we appreciate enormously. The President’s comments have been the basis for our activities in these areas. We see the prime minister’s visit here today as a new and important step in this partnership," said Reiten.
50 years of cooperation
Reiten also emphasised Hydro's long time cooperation with Russia.
"Hydro has been active in Russia for 50 years. At times, Hydro’s trade with Russia has been greater than the bilateral trade between Norway and Russia. At the Kharyaga field in Nents Okrug, Hydro has been producing oil since 1999, and we also have extensive industrial experience in many parts of the country. For 17 years, Hydro has worked with Russian authorities and companies on the
development of the Shtokman field. That has been a constructive partnership, based mainly on technology."
"We are pleased that we continue this partnership and that Hydro has been picked by Gazflot to participate in the drilling of the next well at Shtokman this summer. We participated in well 4, and we are now preparing for well 7 from our new offices in Murmansk. This marks another important step in the development of the field."
First class project execution
Reiten reviewed Hydro's development of the major gas field Ormen Lange in the Norwegian Sea and pointed out that the project is on time and on budget. "Have a good look around you - after all, this is what we're bringing with us as we turn our attention to the arctic areas of Russia," he said.
"For us, first class project execution is an important success factor and a skill that we bring in to all our projects and partnerships. When Hydro, as an industrial company, takes on big projects we always do that in partnership with the societies that we are a part of. National and regional content is important. With Ormen Lange, most of the supplies come from Norwegian contractors. That is also the reason that we have already worked with Russian companies for many years to prepare them for an active role in the development of oil and gas operations in Arctic areas. The first companies have already been awarded contracts on the Norwegian shelf," said Reiten.
He also pointed out that later this week, Hydro will be having discussions with Governor Yury Evdokimov in the county municipaility of Murmansk Oblast on the possiblility of establishing an aluminium plant in Murmansk to be run on gas from the Barents Sea.
- The full text of Eivind Reiten's presentation in Aukra can be read by clicking on the links below. The text version is available in Norwegian, English and Russian. The PDF file with slides is bilingual Norwegian/Russian.