The development of the Shtokman gas reserves in the Barents Sea was high on the agenda Thursday as the Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere met with First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Stoere's talks with Medvedev - who is also board chairman of Shtokman's developer, Gazprom - come as the deadline nears for a decision on whom Gazprom will choose as partners for developing Shtokman. Gazprom's shortlist of five companies includes Norway's Statoil and Norsk Hydro.