Russia
plans sharp boost in energy exports to Asia: minister
AFP
MOSCOW
Petroleumworld.com
02 23 06
Russia plans a sharp increase in exports of oil and natural gas
to the Asia-Pacific region over the next 14 years to meet soaring
demand there, Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said
in an interview published Wednesday.
"Asian countries ... will consume more and more energy"
in the foreseeable future while Western countries will continue
seeking to regulate or cut back on energy consumption, Khristenko
said in an interview with the government daily Rossiikaya Gazeta.
"For this reason, we plan to sharply reorient the volume
of oil and gas exports to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region
by the year 2020," said Khristenko, adding that Russia was
a "natural partner" for the countries of the region
due to its unique geographical position.
A surging appetite in Asia for oil and gas will also spur demand
for hydroelectric power and atomic energy, he said, and Russia
was interested in taking part in development of these sectors
in Asia.
His comments came less than a week after Prime Minister Mikhail
Fradkov said in Hanoi that Russia was ready to help build a major
dam project and a nuclear power plant in Vietnam.
Rossiiskaya Gazeta commented that Vietnam is increasingly described
in Moscow as Russia's "gateway" to the flourishing markets
of southeast Asia.
Khristenko said development of huge oil and gas deposits on the
Sakhalin shelf and near the Kamchatka peninsula, along with new
petroleum resources in eastern Siberia, was being implemented
with a view to long-term supply to Asian consumers.
The Kremlin has over the past year stressed the strategic importance
Moscow attaches to developing its commercial and political positions
in the Asia-Pacific region.
In December, President Vladimir Putin attended as a guest the
inaugural East Asian Summit held in Malaysia, a new body grouping
the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
along with other big regional players including China, Japan,
India and South Korea.
AFP
02 22 06
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© 2006 AFP. All rights reserved
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