Russia Exports Natural Gas Directly to South Korea

Reportedly, Russia is planning to construct underwater gas pipes that will connect Siberia and the East Sea.

Gazprom, the state-run energy corporation in Russia, has specified a plan to export natural gas from Sakhalin and Eastern Siberia to the East Sea via undersea gas pipes in its annual report released on June 29.

In the report, an export channel stretching from East Siberia to China’s Dalian to Korea’s Pyeongtaek, considered to be the most feasible line, and the construction project for ground gas pipes in North Korea, were excluded.

Before the report, Vice President of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev, in charge of exports, said in a news conference on June 27 that land gas pipes make much more economic sense, but that many limitations associated with the inter-Korean relationship could hamper the construction, hinting at a plan to bury pipes under the sea.

The company’s public relations manager explained that the submarine pipe construction plan was devised at the order of corporate leadership and that the pipes are likely to be laid as planned despite some uncertainties until a final plan is confirmed by 2015.

Gazprom is presumed to be moving forward with the undersea pipeline construction project, as Seoul and Moscow designated the corporation as the sole gas provider through negotiations last year.

Russia is set to build additional gas pipes linking Sakhalin, Khabarovsk, and Vladivostok in an attempt to increase exports.

Sakhalin gas is scheduled to be provided to Korea starting next year and will amount to an estimated 1.5 million tons annually, accounting for six percent of domestic consumption.

viyonz@donga.com