Japan asks the Russian Government to support its companies eager to participate in Elga and Sakhalin-3

The Minister of External Affairs of Japan Seiji Maehara has appealed to the Russian Government with a request to support the Japanese companies eager to participate in the Elga and Sakhalin-3 projects. He reported that at the ninth session of the Russian and Japanese intergovernmental commission for trade and economic affairs where he acts as co-chairman. In April 2010 the Japanese Government reported about its interest in Sakhalin-3, the Elga coal deposit and in the construction of port infrastructure, coal and corn terminals in the Russian East.

The Elga proven coal reserves are 2.7 billion tons. It’s not currently being developed . Yakutugol part of  Mechel holds the license for the deposit's north-western site. The total cost of the initial stage of the deposit's development including railway branch construction was estimated by Mechel at a rate of $1.6-1.8 billion.

Sakhalin-3 includes 4 blocks – Kirinsky,Eastern Odoptu, Ayashsky and Veninsky. Rosneft holds the license for the latter since 2003. Gazprom was granted the licenses for Kirinsky,Eastern Odoptuand Ayashsky in 2009. The gas resources of the project are 1.4 trillion cube m; most of them are concentrated at the Kirinsky block. The project's gas will be the main resource base for Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok system. Royal Dutch/Shell is interested in the project as well.

Translated by Nadezhda Poltoratskaya

Source: http://www.rosinvest.com/news/782471/