MOSCOW (AFX) - US oil majors Chevron Corp and ConocoPhillips may no longer be among the front runners to develop the Shtokman gas field due to the failure of the US and Russia to reach agreement over Russia's membership of the WTO, Russian daily Kommersant reported.
The newspaper said the two US companies may lose their chances of being named partner in the development of the Barents Sea gas field due to the failure of negotiations on Russia's entry to the World Trade Organisation.
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which is in charge of the project, has pre-selected five companies -- Norway's Statoil and Norsk Hydro, Chevron Corp and ConocoPhillips of the US and France's Total -- from which it will choose its project partners.
Gazprom has delayed its final decision, seen by some analysts as political currency.
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