Gazprom’s Headquarters has hosted a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee and Nobuyori Kodaira, Director General of the Natural Resources & Energy Agency of the Japanese Economy, Trade & Industry Ministry.

The parties discussed the prospects for further collaboration in the oil & gas sector, as stipulated by the November 2005 Agreement on Cooperation. In particular, the parties reviewed joint implementation of the Program on setting up an integrated gas production, transmission and supply network in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, taking into account potential gas exports to China and Asia Pacific.

The parties underlined their willingness to further specify the joint Coordination Committee’s business objectives and activities.

Interaction in the oil & gas processing industry (within Russia inclusive) was highlighted as a promising area of cooperation.

Nobuyori Kodaira confirmed the Agency’s readiness to render full-fledged support for deeper partnership ties between Gazprom and Japanese energy companies in the sci-tech and production sectors.

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With scarce domestic energy resources, Japan is the world’s fourth-largest energy consumer. The country annually consumes some 80 bcm of gas the share of which stands at 13 per cent in the national energy basket. Japan imports some 100 per cent of overall gas consumed in the form of liquefied natural gas and is the world’s top LNG importer.

Gazprom and the Natural Resources & Energy Agency of Japan’s Economy, Trade & Industry Ministry signed a Framework Agreement on Cooperation on November 21, 2005. The Agreement sets out major joint businesses in the gas sector.

Under the Agreement, the parties will jointly scrutinize issues in relation to the construction of new gas processing and refining facilities in eastern Russia, exports of natural gas, oil, petrochemicals and gas derivatives (including GTL products) from Russia to Japan as well as joint DME production.