The Gazprom headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee and Chikahito Harada, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Russian Federation.

The meeting participants discussed the bilateral cooperation in the energy sector highlighting that the Sakhalin II project was a symbol of success in the Russian-Japanese cooperation. The parties also touched upon the Sakhalin III project noticing a great development potential for the future cooperation in the energy sector.

The parties addressed the joint feasibility study on the options for natural gas export as well as the gas chemical and gas processing projects near Vladivostok. It was announced to the Japanese party that the Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas pipeline with the nominal throughput capacity of 30 billion cubic meters would be commissioned in September and the Chayanda – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok project would be started in 2012.

Special attention was paid to additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to Japan by Gazprom (from the Sakhalin II project and the Company's portfolio) during the current year and projected for the coming months.

Background

With its scarce domestic energy resources, Japan is the world's fourth largest energy consumer. 100 per cent of consumed gas is imported in the form of LNG, making Japan the world's top LNG importer.

Gazprom and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy under the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry signed the five-year Framework Agreement of Cooperation on November 21, 2005. In January 2011 the Agreement was extended for another five-year period. The Agreement sets forth the key areas of bilateral cooperation in the gas sector. A Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) was established to implement the Agreement. A Joint Working Group was set up within the Committee.

On January 11, 2011 Gazprom and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy under the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry signed the Agreement of Cooperation envisaging preparation of a joint feasibility study on the options for natural gas utilization near Vladivostok as well as for natural gas and gas chemicals transportation from the Vladivostok region and their sales among potential customers in Asia-Pacific countries. The issues of setting up an LNG plant near Vladivostok will be considered as part of the Agreement.

On April 25, 2011 Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Yoshio Matsukawa, President and CEO of Japan Far East Gas Co., Ltd signed the Agreement on the joint feasibility study for implementation of the Vladivostok project in furtherance of the previously reached agreements.