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Russia's Gazprom pivoting to Asia

MOSCOW, June 28 (UPI) -- Russian energy company Gazprom said it was setting up a special-purpose company to oversee development of an LNG facility in the Far East.

Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller said the company, Gazprom LNG Vladivostok, was set up to oversee operations for a liquefied natural gas facility in the eastern Russian coast.

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The Vladivostok facility will have a production capacity of 15 million tons of LNG when it comes on stream in 2018.

Gazprom said Thursday plans were under way to commission a natural gas field associated with the facility. Four exploration wells were planned in the region through 2014 and plans are under way to perform a survey of the potential for more gas reserves.

"Work is in progress on the preparation of a resource base for the Vladivostok-LNG project," the company said. "Pro-active efforts are being made to market the gas of the Vladivostok-LNG project and talks are under way with potential customers in Asia-Pacific."

Gazprom considers Far East natural gas developments as a strategic link for Asian markets. Japan in particular is looking for new sources of energy following the 2011 meltdown of its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

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Japan relies completely on LNG for its natural gas needs. Russian natural gas makes up about 8 percent of Japan's annual needs.

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