Contracted to provide support throughout all phases of the project, JPK entered phase 1 of the development of the Shtokman natural gas field development in January. Gerwyn Williams, JPK's managing director, said "We are very pleased to have won this contract, which adds to our portfolio of cold region engineering projects. The project comprises a 600km of 44-in subsea pipeline from the Shtokman field running south to Murmansk. We will be executing the work in our London and Norwegian offices, supported by a Russian contractor, and we'll also be strengthening our presence in Russia by establishing a JPK office in St Petersburg, managed by Russian engineers." For the technically challenging Shtokman project, which lies in Arctic waters beyond the reach of divers, JPK will be delivering its tried and tested solutions to deepwater pipeline installation and will also be responsible for managing an extensive range of interfaces in terms of procurement, planning and compliance with Russian regulations.