"According to plan, the well will be drilled in summer 2006 with Odfjell Drilling's semi-submersible drilling rig, Deepsea Delta, on contract to Hydro," Norsk Hydro said in a statement.
Norsk Hydro is vying with other oil and gas groups, including Norwegian Statoil and US majors, to participate in developing Shtokman which is estimated to contain 3.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.
Gazprom said on Tuesday it would announce a shortlist of potential partners for the Shtokman liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on Sept. 16.
Norsk Hydro said that drilling well No. 7 at Shtokman would be "a good opportunity to develop cooperation" with the Russian companies.
NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting), citing Statoil sources, reported Wednesday that both Hydro and Statoil would be among the five companies to negotiate for a further role in development of the Shtokman field.
Gazprom has previously said that it will release its shortlist of partners on Friday.
