Russian natural gas monopoly OAO Gazprom will purchase a stake in the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas development with cash, deputy minister of industry and energy Andrei Dementyev said Wednesday, according to Russian news agency Interfax.
Gazprom has been holding talks with Royal Dutch Shell PLC on the Russian gas giant's entry into Sakhalin-2 for months, although talks have intensified in recent days.
Earlier, talks had focused around swapping a stake in Sakhalin-2 for a stake in Gazprom's massive Zapolyarnoye gas field in northern Russia.
A senior Gazprom executive said Tuesday he hoped to strike an agreement with Shell this week.
Asked Wednesday how state-controlled Gazprom planned to enter Sakhalin-2, Dementyev said: "It will buy (the stake) for cash."
A Shell spokesman declined to say whether Shell was still interested in swapping assets for a stake in Zapolyarnoye. No one at Gazprom was immediately available for comment.
(Dow Jones Newswires)