MOSCOW, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – Russian energy giant Gazprom and state-run oil major Rosneft are negotiating the possible participation of Asian partners in energy projects in Russia’s Far East, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday.
“Talks are under way on the participation of Asia-Pacific region companies in Gazprom’s project in Vladivostok and Rosneft’s project in the [Russian] Far East,” Novak said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV.
The projects in question are Gazprom’s Vladivostok-LNG and Rosneft’s Dalnevostochny-LNG.
Dalnevostochny-LNG project involves the construction of a liquefaction plant on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East. The capacity of the plant is expected to be 5 million tons per year, subject to further expansion. According to Novak, India's biggest state-owned explorer ONGC is holding negotiations with Rosneft for acquiring 20 percent stake in the project.
As for Vladivostok-LNG project, Gazprom Deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov said in May that the Russian energy giant could propose a 49 percent share in the project to its foreign partners.