The gas would have been sourced from fields in Siberia and would have been exported from US company ExxonMobil’s Sakahlin-1 development on Russia’s Pacific coast, the BBC revealed.
The publication cited Alexander Ananenkov, Gazprom’s deputy chief executive, as saying: We consider it necessary for a directive to be issued and Sakhalin-1 gas to be sold to Gazprom so we could supply gas to Russia’s regions and for the gas not to be exported as proposed by ExxonMobil.
Gazprom’s demands have renewed fears that the country is wielding its rich oil and gas reserves as a political tool, while monopolizing the exploration and production projects being carried out on its territory. If the Kremlin agrees to cancel the agreement with China, the country would be denied access to Russian energy resources, the BBC said.
Although Mr Ananenkov is reported to have said that the state’s four far eastern regions alone require more than 15 billion cubic meters of gas a year, China is also in desperate need of energy supplies because of its rapidly expanding economy.
According to Reuters, Gazprom said in June 2007 that the company has been in talks with ExxonMobil in the hope of acquiring all of the gas from its Sakahlin-1 project.
