Gazprom keen on Japanese market

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MOSCOW, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Russian energy company Gazprom said it was reviewing liquefied natural gas options in the Far East with representatives from the Japanese government.

Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller met with Japanese Ambassador to Russia Chikahito Harada in Moscow.

Gazprom, in a statement, described LNG supplies to Japan as a top priority for the company.

Both sides "discussed the progress with the project of an LNG plant construction near Vladivostok and emphasized the successful cooperation between Gazprom and Japanese energy companies within the Sakhalin II project," the company said.

More than 85 percent of deliveries of LNG from Gazprom were to Asia-Pacific countries in 2011. The company said it aims to invest more than $14 billion on developments in the Sakhalin region north of Japan.

Miller in September signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese officials for a LNG project in Vladivostok, Russia.

The plant could produce as much as 10 million tons of LNG per day. Full capacity is expected by 2016 with about 70 percent of the LNG designated for the Japanese market.