Russia and Japan are in talks to build a gas
pipeline from Russia to expand gas
supplies to the Far Eastern country, Russian gas giant Gazprom said on
Thursday.
"The parties
have discussed prospects of
increase of natural gas supplies from Russia to Japan in terms of higher
liquefied natural gas production at the Sakhalin Island and implementation of
an LNG plant construction project in Vladivostok," Gazprom said
following a meeting between the company's export head Alexander Medvedev and
Japan's former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara.
"The parties
also discussed the opportunities for a gas supply project from Russia to
Japan through pipeline," Gazprom said.
The future pipeline
could be laid on the seabed, Maehara said earlier on Thursday.
Japan is the world's
fourth largest energy consumer but has no energy resources of its own. The
country is the world's largest consumer of liquefied natural gas.
Japan is also the
largest LNG consumer from the Sakhalin-2 project as about 65 percent of
produced gas at the deposits is
supplied to Japan under 20-year bilateral
contracts.
Gazprom and Japan
Far East Gas Co., a consortium of
Japanese companies, are also implementing a project to build an LNG plant and
a gas chemical complex in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East.
Investment volume in
the project might total $7 billion, with a return on investment of seven to
eight years, a source close to the project's participants has said.
The plant, scheduled
to be launched in 2016, will produce 10 million tons of LNG from 2017 with
seven million tons supplied to Japan and three million tons to South Korea.
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VOCABULARY
1.
Expand - to
become larger in size, number, or amount
2.
Prospects
- the possibility that something will happen
3.
Deposits -
a layer of a mineral, metal etc that is left in soil or rocks through a
natural process
4.
Bilateral
- involving two groups or nations
5.
Consortium
- a group of companies or organizations who are working
together to do something
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
Talk about natural resources in Japan.
2.
How do you think this talk between Russia and
Japan will affect each country’s economy?
3.
Give some uses of gas.
4.
How much gas do you use daily?
5.
Discuss about the cost of gas in your country.
6.
What are some alternatives to gas?
