Gazprom looks to ExxonMobil for Sakhalin-1 gas
28 Dec 2009
Russian petroleum producer Gazprom expects to wrap up a deal on gas supplies from the ExxonMobil-led Sakhalin-1 project next year, Gazprom's deputy head Alexander Ananenkov told reporters in Kozmino on Monday.
The Russian energy giant has said it needs gas from Sakhalin-1 to feed industrial growth in the country's Far East.
"I think we will come to an agreement in 2010," Alexander Ananenkov said on the fringes of a ceremony to mark the launch of Russia's new Pacific oil terminal that will allow the world's largest energy producer to service Asian markets.
ExxonMobil has said it is studying all options for selling gas from Sakhalin-1, which is owned by a consortium that also includes Russian oil firm Rosneft, Japan's Itochu and Marubeni and India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp.
Ananenkov said Gazprom wants to buy up to 8 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas annually from the second stage of Sakhalin-1 development.
He also said the firm will increase estimated gas reserves at Kirinsky field, which is a part of Sakhalin-3 project, to 100 bcm from the current 75.4 bcm estimate. Gazprom is set to commission the field in 2014.