Russia's Gazprom, Shell start talks on Baltic LNG project - Interfax

Shell's company logo is pictured at a gas station in Zurich April 8, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Gazprom and Royal Dutch Shell have started commercial talks on Baltic LNG project, Interfax news agency quoted Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller as saying on Monday. The Russian gas producer plans to build a liquefied natural gas plant in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga with an annual capacity of 10 million tonnes. It wants to increase output to 15 million tonnes a year later on. Russia's Kommersant newspaper said in June that Gazprom may offer up to 49 percent in the project to a strategic partner, with most likely candidates being Shell or a consortium of Japanese firms. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova, Editing by Gabriela Baczynska)