Today a Gazprom delegation chaired by Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee has paid a visit to Japan.

Within the visit Alexander Ananenkov met with Masashi Nakano, Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and Harufumi Mochizuki, Director-General of Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

The parties pointed to the significant cooperation prospects within the execution of the Development Program of the integrated gas production, transportation and supply system in Eastern Siberia and the Far East with due regard of potential gas exports to China and other Asia-Pacific countries. Particularly, special attention was pointed to cooperation in the sector of gas processing and chemical industries development and marketing of products produced.

Today a regular session of the Joint Coordinating Committee between Gazprom and the Agency has been held in the aim of examining major operating results in 2007 and setting strategic business directions for the Committee in 2008. The participants discussed also the cooperation projects to develop gas processing and chemical industries in the Russian Federation within the Eastern Program execution.

At the meeting with Vataru Yoshida, Executive Director of Japan Bank for International Cooperation the parties discussed opportunities of cooperation within the execution of energy projects in the Russian Federation forwarded to long-term energy supplies to Asia-Pacific countries.

Additionally, within the visit Japan’s government ministries and a wide range of Japanese companies listened to the Eastern Program presentation.

“The Eastern Program implementation and the integrated gas supply system development in Russia’s East has a strategic role to satisfy gas needs of Russian consumers and to organize long-term secure gas supplies to Asia-Pacific countries. It is also the Russian contribution to maintain energy security in the region,” said Alexander Ananenkov within the presentation.

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Possessing scarce domestic energy resources, Japan is the world’s fourth-largest country in terms of energy consumption averaging 80 bcm per year. The share of gas in Japan’s energy mix stands at 13 per cent and is anticipated to grow. Japan imports 100 per cent of the total 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 the Framework Agreement of Cooperation on November 21, 2005. The Agreement sets out major joint businesses in the gas sector. The Joint Coordinating Committee was set up in the aim of executing the Agreement. Alexander Ananenkov and Shinsuke Kitagawa are the co-chairmen of the Joint Coordinating Committee.

The Cooperation Plan 2007 was executed. The Plan stipulates the provision of R&D for the development project of gas chemical industry in Eastern Siberia, development of a sci-tech cooperation program.

First meeting of the Joint Coordinating Committee was held on January 25, 2007.

On June 15, 2007 the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation approved the Eastern Program. On September 3, 2007 Gazprom was pointed as a coordinator of the Russian Federation Government aimed at executing the Program.