Statoil was on Gazprom's shortlist of potential foreign partners in the lucrative Shtokman project, along with Norway's Norsk Hydro, France's Total, and Chevron and ConocoPhillips, of the United States.
But last month, the Russian giant unexpectedly announced it would proceed with the project on its own.
CEO Alexei Miller said none of the short-listed companies had proposed acceptable terms for the development of the deposit, the only source of natural gas for the trans-Baltic North European Gas Pipeline, which will link Russia to Germany.
Miller said, however, that foreign companies are welcome to join the Shtokman project as contractors.
Statoil Vice President Harald Finnvik said his company does not see the situation as critical.
"We have never had doubts Statoil will be involved in Shtokman's development, one way or another," he said. "We don't feel the door of opportunity has closed on us. We can see new potentialities in this situation, but, of course, it will now take us some time to assess the situation adequately and to see which form of cooperation is realistic."
"We have a number of ideas, although it is still too early to talk of any concrete proposals," he added.
Many in the West criticized Gazprom's decision as an attempt by the Kremlin to tighten its control over Russia's strategic hydrocarbon resources. But the Statoil executive called the move "normal."
"This is a normal process, a normal situation in the business world," he said. "We are always ready for any eventuality, and this particular situation is no exception. We knew [all along] that the process could go either way."
The Shtokman deposit holds an estimated 3.2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, and 31 million metric tons of gas condensate in the Barents Sea. Some $12-14 billion will be invested in the project's first phase, and production will start in 2011.
