Shell deal over Russian oil field

Oil giant Shell has made a series of offers to Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom, aimed at resolving problems over one of the world's largest oil and gas projects.
There are reports that the offers include giving Gazprom a major stake in the multi-billion dollar Sakhalin-2 project, after months of pressure from the Russian authorities.
Both sides have confirmed that the heads of Royal Dutch Shell and Gazprom met last Friday in Moscow for talks concerning the project, on Russia's far eastern island of Sakhalin.
A spokesman for Gazprom said the new offers put forward by Shell were now being considered.
Legal action
Shell described the meeting as quite positive, saying it expected there might be an announcement, but not in the next few days.
Industry sources have suggested that an agreement in principle was reached at Friday's meeting.
This would apparently mean Shell giving up its controlling stake in the project, and handing Gazprom a significant share.
The Russian government is deeply unhappy about the terms of the Sakhalin-2 project, which is foreign-owned.
Many analysts say the threats by the government's environment agency to take legal action over alleged environmental shortcomings by the foreign consortium were part of a campaign to ensure some state involvement.