Japan Plans Pipeline from Russian Island

A Japanese consortium is planning a 1,400 km (870 mile) offshore pipeline to bring natural gas from Russia's Sakhalin Island, Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun reported Monday.

The pipeline would run from Sakhalin Island, in the Sea of Okhotsk bordering the north Pacific, to the Tokyo metropolitan area. It is to run through Hokkaido and along the Pacific coast of Japan's mainland. When completed in approximately six years, the pipeline, estimated to cost up to $5 billion (€3.9bn), would make a big dint in energy procurement cost, sources told the newspaper. 

Demand for natural gas has been rising in Japan. The nation of 120 million cut back its major reliance on nuclear power after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster in March 2011. The disaster was a consequence of the earthquake and tsunami which hit Japan at that time.

The three companies in the pipeline proposal are Tokyo Gas Co, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co and Nippon Steel & Sumikin Engineering Co. The newspaper reported that the project has completed a preliminary feasibility study.

The proposal was at an early stage, and technical surveys would have to be completed, as well as extensive talks between the parties.

Energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp owns an interest in the Sakhalin I oil and gas development project and would be consulted.

The participating companies also plan to seek participation from electric power companies in the project, as the Sakhalin gas is expected to be cheaper than inported LNG.

The Japanese government also has plans to import LNG from Vladivostok in the far east of Russia, agencies report.