MOSCOW — Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom shortlisted Friday five oil majors to contend for the development of the huge Shtokman natural gas field off the Barents Sea and said it would hold a 51% controlling stake in the project. The project is estimated at $10 billion.

The shortlist includes Chevron and ConocoPhillips from the USA, Norwegian majors Hydro and Statoil, and French Total, said Gapzprom's head Alexei Miller.

Miller added that two or three companies would be selected for the Shtokman field development in the next four-six months on the basis of expertise in sea shelf development, marketing potential and experience in liquefied natural gas production.

Miller also said: "This project can be developed under product sharing agreements."

"North America will be the main destination for gas supplies from the Shtokman deposit," he said.

On Thursday, Chairman of the Union of Oil and Gas Producers Yury Shafranik said Russian companies should have a key role in the project.

"The development of the Shtokman natural gas field [to begin in 2010] will have a significant influence on the Russian economy if Russian companies receive at least 70% of orders," he said.

The yields of investment in the project may be expected only five years after the start of development, he said. Today $20 billion is being spent on servicing the oil sector, so Russian specialists and equipment should be involved in it, Shafranik added.

The Shtokman natural gas field is located in the central part of the Barents Sea at a depth of 280-360 meters (about 900-1,200 feet), 550 kilometers (about 340 miles) to the southeast of the Kola Peninsula. Regional producer Sevmorneftegaz is licensed to use its reserves, which are estimated at 3,205.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 30.98 million metric tons of gas condensate.

Liquefied natural gas produced at the Shtokman deposit will be exported to the United States (25%) and Europe.