Russia has not yet decided whether to export to China or Japan gas from the Sakhalin I development project in its Far East, which is due to go on stream in 2008, a regional official told reporters yesterday.
"Two options are being considered: exporting liquefied natural gas either to Japan or to China. The most profitable and sensible option will be favored," Galina Pavlova, the head of Sakhalin region oil and gas department, said.
The Sakhalin I project has 17 trillion meters3 of gas reserves ready for immediate extraction and 2.3 billion barrels of oil, she said.
The US$12 billion project is operated by a consortium led by ExxonMobil, a group of 13 Japanese companies, SODECO, two Russian companies and India's ONGC Videsh.
The Japanese option for the exports has so far looked the most promising, particularly since Japanese demand for gas already exceeds the capacities of another project on the island, Sakhalin II, officials have said.
"Japananese companies have already reached their quota of gas deliveries from Sakhalin II, and some of the Japanese companies involved are prepared to bid for additional deliveries of one million tonnes," Sakhalin acting governor Ivan Malakhov recently told a press conference in Moscow.
No date has yet been set for a final decision on deliveries of liquefied gas from Sakhalin I, Pavlova said.
Negotiations on gas and oil deliveries from the Sakhalin I and Sakhalin II projects are currently under way with Japan, China, South Korea and the US, she added.
Sakhalin II is a joint venture between Royal Dutch/Shell, Mitsui Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Corp, and is to spend over US$9 billion on construction projects.
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