Viktor Khristenko said the government should in turn take all necessary steps to reduce the non-commercial risks related to these projects.
The Shtokman deposit, located 650km from the Barents Sea port of Murmansk, holds an estimated 3.2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 31 million metric tons of gas condensate. Construction of the 4.7-billion euro NEGP project, which is managed by Russian energy giant Gazprom, began last year. The pipeline, which is to include two parallel legs measuring 750 miles each, will connect the Baltic seashore near the Russian city of Vyborg with the Greifswald region on the German coast.
"One of the essential factors to minimize risks is diversification in accordance with sources, supply routes, markets and new technologies," Khristenko said.
The minister added it was important to provide uninterrupted energy supplies for the future for all countries.
