When StatoilHydro won the contract to take part in the development of the enormous Shtokman gas field, which has enough gas for the entire European Union for seven years, it did not come as a surprise for the players in the Norwegian petroleum industry. StatoilHydro and numerous Norwegian companies with great experience in operating the rough and ice-cold arctic waters have already made their reputations in Russia, and they had won important contracts with the Russians before.