Russia’s Gazprom, Shell ink 5-year ‘strategic’ deal
Gazprom and Royal Dutch Shell signed on March 16 an Agreement of Strategic Cooperation for a five-year period, the Russian gas giant said.
The signing ceremony was held via a video link in the presence of Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller and Shell CEO Ben van Beurden.
The newly signed document, which expands the interaction between the two companies, focuses on research of energy markets, implementation of projects along the entire value chain, cooperation in digitalization of technologies, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, Gazprom said.
“Today, we have made a new step in the development of our cooperation,” Miller said. “The very signing of the Agreement proves that our joint work has brought good results and that we establish ambitious goals for both the short term and the long term. Without any doubt, the experience we have accumulated guarantees us new future achievements,” he added.
Miller and Ben van Beurden reviewed cooperation between Gazprom and Shell, especially the Sakhalin II gas field. Last year, a record-high volume of liquefied natural gas – over 11.6 million tons – was produced and shipped to customers under the project.
Turning to European energy sector decarbonization, Gazprom and Shell noted that natural gas can play a significant role in meeting Europe’s climate goals.
Gazprom and Shell are jointly engaged in the Sakhalin II project, which includes Russia’s first LNG plant. The project operator of Sakhalin II is Sakhalin Energy (Gazprom – 50% plus one share, Shell – 27.5% minus one share, Mitsui & Co – 12.5%, and Mitsubishi Corporation – 10%).
The previous Agreement of Strategic Cooperation between Gazprom and Shell was signed in 2015.
