Gazprom Steps Towards Asian Strategy
Gazprom and Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of Japan have signed a memorandum agreement to build an LNG plant in Vladivostok, Russia.
An agreement on the construction of the $7 billion Vladivostok LNG project was signed by Gazprom chief Alexey Miller and Ichiro Takahara, Director General of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
The memorandum provides for the development of comprehensive cooperation for the further advancement of the project, including the financing and marketing of gas.
"The signing of the memorandum brings us closer to the realization of the Vladivostok LNG project, which will be important for the development of the eastern part of the Unified Gas Supply System of Russia and increasing the supply of Russian gas to markets in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan," said Miller.
"I would like to emphasize that the Japanese market compares favorably with the scale, is a premium in the Far East, and us and Japanese partners, highly skilled in the implementation of LNG projects, already connects successful history of working together on the project."
Earlier,Gazprom together withwith the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy as well as with the Japan Far East Gas Company, a consortium of Japanese companies comprising Itochu, JAPEX, Marubeni, INPEX and Cieco completed a feasibility study on the project.
Japan is the fourth largest in the world in terms of energy consumption. In fiscal year 2011, natural gas consumption in the country of 83 million tons of LNG. The share of gas in energy consumption in Japan now stands at 14% and will increase. Japan imports 96% of the gas consumed in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG), ranking first in the world for its imports.
Gazprom reported that over the next few years the volume of gas supplied to Japan will exceed shipments to Europe.
Eastern Gas Program is our priority and actively implemented, but given the dynamics of growth in demand for gas in the Asia-Pacific region, will now be decided on its significant acceleration, " said Miller.