JUNEAU, Alaska, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Russian gas monopoly Gazprom entered into negotiations with the American major ConocoPhillips to produce natural gas in the Alaskan North Slope, officials said.
Officials with Gazprom described negotiations between Gazprom's Alexei Miller and ConocoPhillips' Jim Mulva to establish a joint development venture as "successful," the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant said Tuesday.
The production deal for the North Slope gas field follows announcements in April from the British BP energy major that it would invite a third party to develop the field.
The $30 billion project will transport as much as 1.4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas through a 2,600-mile pipeline from the North Slope gas field to Chicago.
Gazprom delivered a presentation to BP and ConocoPhillips at the World Economic Forum in June. The North Slope gas field is the largest such field in Alaska.
Gazprom may face financial obstacles to moving too aggressively on the project as it struggles to back its development projects amid the declining price of crude oil.
