MOSCOW, June 20 (UPI) -- Utilizing natural gas from Russia would spark socioeconomic development in countries near its eastern border, Russian energy company Gazprom said.
Top executives from Gazprom met with Asian officials in Moscow to discuss its move into the Asia-Pacific region.
"Natural gas utilization by the residential, industrial and power generation sectors of Russia's eastern regions would trigger their socioeconomic development," a statement from Gazprom read.
The company said it was "intensely developing" its resource base and transmission capacity in the region.
The Yamal Peninsula in Russia's Far East is set to become a new production center for processing of liquefied natural gas. The development of the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok pipeline and other LNG hubs in the region are top developmental priorities, the company said.
More than 85 percent of LNG deliveries from Gazprom were to Asia-Pacific countries in 2011.
Gazprom has focused more intently on Asian economies as European partners take steps to break the Russian grip on the regional energy sector.
