Russia starts work on East Asian gas pipeline
31 Jul 2009
Russia has started to build a new gas pipeline to link the Pacific from Sakhalin island to the mainland city of Vladivostok, the largest gas pipeline in the Russia's far east, which would eventually be used to export gas to East Asia including Japan.
Russia's state-owned oil and gas company, Gazprom is constructing the 1,800 kilometres (1,100 miles) long Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok pipeline, which will be capable of transporting 30 billion cubic metres of gas per year.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is attended the opening of the televised event in Khabarovsk, said the pipeline, a part of the major state programme, is crucial for the development of the region.
"The priority for gas in East Siberia and the Far East is above all to serve the domestic market."
The new pipeline, costing $6.7 billion in the first phase of construction, will feed gas to Russia's far east region and supply gas to the hungry far east Asian markets through its Sakhalin island's huge gas deposits.
But Gazprom does not have enough gas on Sakhalin island to fill the pipeline as the non contracted gas from Sakhalin-1 and 2 is only for around 3 billion cubic meters.
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