MURMANSK, November 17 (RIA Novosti, Yekaterina Kozlova) - Norwegian oil and gas major Hydro signed a memorandum of cooperation Thursday with the Murmansk regional administration in northern Russia.

The administration's press service said Thursday that the document broadened business opportunities for the company in northwestern Russia and the Barents Sea.

Hydro Vice President Bengt Li Hansen and Murmansk Region Governor Yury Yevdokimov signed the memorandum at an exhibition in the northern Russian port city.

"The company will open a center for higher qualifications for the local oil and gas industry, a move meant to further the program to develop the supply network for the Shtokman deposit project, which Hydro has developed in the last three years," a spokesperson for the regional administration said. The company will also open an office in the Murmansk region.

The Gazprom-operated Shtokman natural gas field is located in the Russian part of the Barents Sea and is estimated to contain 3.2 trillion cu m of natural gas.

According to the Russian Economic Development and Trade Ministry, natural gas production at the Shtokman field on terms of a product sharing agreement may start in 2010.

On September 16, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller announced a shortlist of contenders to develop the Shtokman field that included U.S.-based companies Chevron and ConocoPhillips, Norwegian holdings Hydro and Statoil, and France's Total.