Russia, Japan to conclude gas cooperation deal next week

Tokyo (Platts)--17Nov2005

Russia plans to conclude a comprehensive gas cooperation agreement with
Japan during Russian President Vladimir Putin's three-day visit to Japan
starting Sunday, a spokesman for Alexei Miller, CEO of state gas giant
Gazprom, was quoted as saying by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun Thursday. Miller
will be visiting Japan with Putin.

     Officials at the Petroleum and Natural Gas Division of the Agency for
Natural Resources and Energy, an affiliate of the Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry, were not available for comment. 

     The cooperation agreement will cover Russian oil products and gas exports
to Japan, Russia's purchase of facilities and pipes from Japan, Japanese aid
in gas-to-liquids technology and Russian natural gas supply to Japan, Nikkei
said. It also quoted the spokesman as saying that Gazprom would cooperate with
Japanese companies in the construction of liquefied natural gas plants and
operation of LNG vessels, according to the paper.

     Japanese trading house Itochu's chairman Uichiro Niwa had met Miller in
Moscow in September this year to discuss implementation of the East Siberian
gas project, LNG gas production, transportation and sale, and supplies of
pipes for the construction of the subsea section of Gazprom's North European
gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea, Platts reported earlier.

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