Reuters: Gazprom and Japan close in on Russian Far East LNG plant

Gazprom and a consortium of Japanese companies are poised to sign an agreement on the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Russia's Far Eastern port of Vladivostok, Gazprom sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

The document could be signed during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vladivostok on Sept 8 and 9 after Gazprom finally shelved its long-mulled plans to launch an LNG project on the back of the huge Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea.

The Shtokman project was derailed by sagging demand for the fuel in Europe and the speedy development of shale gas deposits in the United States, which had been viewed as a primary export market for Shtokman.  MORE