The Wall Street Journal, published today an article where Russian bigger energy companies are said
to be shifting gas deals from Europe to Asia. They are facing competition and regulatory pressure in the former Region.
The world's largest energy producer has for years threatened to switch its exports eastward, but Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that Russia has finally made a breakthrough in its efforts to tap the lucrative Asian market.
Exports from Russian state gas giant OAO Gazprom's to the EU slid last year as power producers favored cheap coal imports from the U.S. by booming gas production. Lower gas sales are hurting Russia's economy as they account for over 10% of export revenues.
"If Europe prefers energy sources that are not environmentally clean, that's a decision for Europe," Mr. Dvorkovich said. "It's okay. Demand exists in other regions of the world."
Mr. Dvorkovich said Russia would continue to be "safe and stable partners" to Europe and "deliver as much gas as it needs," but saw greater prospects for boosting sales in Asia.
President Putin said Friday that Russia would for the first time allow companies other than Gazprom to export liquefied natural gas.
Shortly before Mr. Putin's announcement last week, Russian energy firms signed several number of gas-supply deals with Asian consumers.
OAO Novatek Russia's No. 2 gas producer, signed an deal to ship gas from its planned Arctic liquefaction plant to China National Petroleum Corp., which acquired a 20% stake in the project.
State oil firm OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS) signed agreements to ship LNG to Japan, as well as agreeing to supply China with 15 million metric tons of crude oil annually for 25 years for just over $10 billion per year.
Mr. Dvorkovich said liberalizing LNG exports would speed up the three major projects planned by Gazprom, Novatek and Rosneft by increasing competition. The decision to open up exports "will put us into this market at the right time," he said.
