Petro-Canada and Gazprom to finish LNG venture study

Petro-Canada expects to conclude within the next two months a study on the feasibility of a partnership with Gazprom to bring LNG from Russia to North America, Petro- Canada President and CEO Ron Brenneman said.
"We're making very good progress in our discussion," said Brenneman, during a presentation to investors. "We would wrap up this phase here in the next couple of months." The next step would involve "some substantial commitment in engineering," Brenneman said.

Petro-Canada and Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding in October, 2004, to study the feasibility of a joint venture to liquefy natural gas near St Petersburg and regasify it in Quebec, where it would supply the Canadian and US markets. In the future, the joint venture could rely on gas extracted from Gazprom's planned offshore developments in the Barents Sea, Brenneman said.
"There's a geographical advantage in accessing the market through Canada and not through the Gulf Coast," said Brenneman.

The executive expressed confidence in dealing with Russia's state oil monopoly, which he described as "used to dealing in external markets and in a free-enterprise system."
"What they lack is entry points in North America," said Brenneman.