OREANDA-NEWS. February 18, 2010. The Gazprom Headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee and Lee Gyu-Hyung, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Russia.

The parties discussed the prospects for the Russian-Korean cooperation in the energy sector. Particular attention was paid to LNG and pipeline gas supplies to Korea, as well as to the cooperation within the Eastern Gas Program.

In addition, the meeting participants emphasized the great potential for cooperation of Gazprom and Korean companies in the gas processing and gas chemical sectors in the Russian Far East.

Background

On May 12, 2003 Gazprom and Korean Kogas entered into the five-year Cooperation Agreement, which was extended for another five-year term in 2008. The Agreement embraces a wide spectrum of issues including the study of possible ways to deliver Russian natural gas to Korea.

To implement the Agreement, the parties set up the standing Joint Working Group.

On October 17, 2006 Seoul saw the signing of the Agreement of Cooperation in the gas industry between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Korea. Pursuant to the Agreement, Gazprom and Kogas were identified as the companies authorized to oversee natural gas deliveries from Russia to the Republic of Korea.

On September 29, 2008 Gazprom and Kogas signed the Memorandum of Understanding on natural gas supplies from Russia to Korea.

On June 23, 2009 Gazprom and Kogas signed the Agreement on joint research of a gas supply project. The Agreement envisages the study of scenarios for gas supply from the final point of the Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas transmission system to Korea.

The state-run Development Program for an integrated gas production, transportation and supply system in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, taking into account potential gas exports to China and other Asia-Pacific countries (Eastern Gas Program) was adopted in September 2007 pursuant to the Russian Industry and Energy Ministry Order. Gazprom was appointed by the Russian Federation Government as the Program execution coordinator.