THE American oil companies Chevron and ConocoPhillips could be shut out of a massive Arctic gas project in a sharp chilling of trade relations between Moscow and Washington.

Substantial volumes of liquefied gas from Shtokmanovskoye in the Barents Sea, originally earmarked for export to the United States, could be redirected to Europe, President Putin said.

The shift in policy, revealed by Mr Putin after talks with the French President and the German Chancellor at the weekend, will be a blow to efforts by American energy companies to secure access to one of the world’s largest gasfields.

The apparent snub to American interests is further evidence of increasing tension between Washington and Moscow over trade and the willingness of the Kremlin to use its energy resources as a political lever.

A US State Department official told The Times: “We understand that Gazprom (the Russian oil giant) is still considering the selection of partner companies to develop the Shtokman gasfield in the Barents Sea, and we hope that the Russian Government and Gazprom will choose partner companies in accordance with the technological and commercial goals of the project.”

Anger is mounting over continuing American resistance to Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation and a decision by the US State Department in August to impose sanctions on two Russian arms companies, Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi, for their alleged supply of arms to Iran.

The hardening stance in Washington could rebound on American companies — notably Boeing, which imports titanium from Russia and has a project with Sukhoi to develop a civil jet aircraft.

Meanwhile, Chevron and Conoco are each angling to be selected as one of three partners to Gazprom in developing Shtokman. Costing more than $20 billion (£10.5 billion), the huge development will take place within floating pack ice in the Arctic Circle, beyond the reach of helicopters.

The Russian President indicated that the proposal that Shtokman gas be shipped to Europe had come from Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor. “Gazprom is reviewing this possibility,” Mr Putin said. “Such a decision might be made in the very near future.”

That could boost the fortunes of three European energy firms that are competing for a piece of Shtokman — Norsk Hydro and Statoil, of Norway, and Total, of France.

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