HOUSTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Russia's Gazprom intends to become a major supplier of liquefied natural gas to North American markets.
John Hattenberger, LNG director of Gazprom Marketing & Trade in London, told the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates conference in Houston: "We're working with a number of players to develop a gas market and a trading position here in the United States.
"We plan to partner with LNG players. This is not a business for us to enter alone."
Approximately one-third of the world's proven gas reserves are in Russia, though much of that is remote and difficult to produce and transport.
Hattenbeger acknowledged this, telling the conference: "While many of those reserves are in remote and inhospitable places with high development costs, we still have an abundance of gas reserves which can be easily commercialized.
"We intend to participate in all elements of the value chain. We will produce the gas. We will participate in the liquefaction, in shipping, and in the regas facilities."
