"The supply of Russian gas to states in the Asia-Pacific region on the basis of intergovernmental agreements from the single gas-supply system and through the single export channel will ensure reliability and long-term gas supplies to Asian consumers just as Russian gas is supplied to European consumers," Ananenkov said. His words are cited in the press release.
The two also considered the possibility of cooperation between Gazprom and Japanese companies in the field of gas-processing technologies and realization of relative joint projects in the east of Russia.
The world's fourth consumer of energy, Japan actually has no resources of energy. Thus, its prospected reserves of gas constitute only 40 billion cubic meters at the annual level of consumption at about 80 billion cubic meters. Gas constitutes 13 percent of energy consumption in Japan. By 2020 the figure will come up to 16 percent, international experts say.
Japan exports almost 100 percent of the consumed gas as liquefied natural gas, ranking the first in the world in such import.