"We are in the concluding stage of talks with our partners," Dmitry Medvedev, who is also board chairman of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, said at a news briefing at RIA Novosti.
"So far, the talks have been proceeding without any surprises, and I hope we will not have any problems on New Year's eve, like in the past," he said.
Medvedev also said Russia will not export natural gas from the Sakhalin-1 project until demand in East Siberia and Russia's Far East has been fully satisfied.
Sakhalin-1 project is run under a 1996 production sharing agreement. Exxon Neftegas Limited holds a 30% stake in the Sakhalin-1 production sharing agreement. The other shareholders are state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft (20%), India's ONGC (20%) and Japan's Sodeco (30%).
"As long as we ensure gasification of our regions [Siberia and Far East], we will start exporting excess of natural gas," Medvedev said. "It is quite reasonable."
