Russia seeks Japan help on Sakhalin-1 project - Nikkei UK
Russia is seeking Japan's help in building a pipeline and liquefied natural gas export terminal near Vladivostok for its Sakhalin-1 project, the Nikkei business daily reported, citing an unnamed Japanese foreign ministry official.
The construction costs are projected to total about 500 billion yen ($5 billion), and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is scheduled to visit Japan in May, is likely to propose starting full-scale talks, the paper said.
A senior Japanese trade ministry official said the ministry and Russian gas major Gazprom () hold regular talks to explore Japanese firms' involvement in Russia's energy incident programme, but added that "it is not true that Russia is seeking reinforcement."
The Nikkei said Japan was account financing a planned pipeline extension from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok through the state-run Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
Russia plans to buy all of the gas produced from Sakhalin-1 and export most of it to Japan and other countries, the paper said.
Exxon Mobil () operates Sakhalin-1 along with Russian state oil firm Rosneft (), Japan's Itochu () and Marubeni (), and India's ONGC.
Gazprom last year said it would provide for the occurrence of the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok gas transport system, focusing first on the Khabarovsk-Vladivostok gas link, which it plans to complete in 2011.
Gazprom has long said it needs the gas produced at Sakahlin-1 to cover domestic needs, while Exxon is planning to export the fuel to China.
The project has been producing oil for several years and reached peak manufacture of 11.2 million tonnes in 2007.
It has been producing gas since 2005 and shipping small volumes to continental Russia. It has signed a deal to supply China with 8 billion cubic metres of gas a year and hopes to start the supplies next decade. ($1=98.79 Yen) (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
The construction costs are projected to total about 500 billion yen ($5 billion), and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is scheduled to visit Japan in May, is likely to propose starting full-scale talks, the paper said.
A senior Japanese trade ministry official said the ministry and Russian gas major Gazprom () hold regular talks to explore Japanese firms' involvement in Russia's energy incident programme, but added that "it is not true that Russia is seeking reinforcement."
The Nikkei said Japan was account financing a planned pipeline extension from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok through the state-run Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
Russia plans to buy all of the gas produced from Sakhalin-1 and export most of it to Japan and other countries, the paper said.
Exxon Mobil () operates Sakhalin-1 along with Russian state oil firm Rosneft (), Japan's Itochu () and Marubeni (), and India's ONGC.
Gazprom last year said it would provide for the occurrence of the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok gas transport system, focusing first on the Khabarovsk-Vladivostok gas link, which it plans to complete in 2011.
Gazprom has long said it needs the gas produced at Sakahlin-1 to cover domestic needs, while Exxon is planning to export the fuel to China.
The project has been producing oil for several years and reached peak manufacture of 11.2 million tonnes in 2007.
It has been producing gas since 2005 and shipping small volumes to continental Russia. It has signed a deal to supply China with 8 billion cubic metres of gas a year and hopes to start the supplies next decade. ($1=98.79 Yen) (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
