Lighting up the Russian Far East

The Republic of Sakha, also known as Yakutia, in eastern Siberia is the coldest inhabited area on Earth, with the mercury sometimes dropping to minus 50 deg Celsius.

It also is home to the gigantic Chayanda gas field, in the taiga biome of coniferous forests. The field has an estimated 1.24 trillion cubic metres of recoverable gas reserves, equal to 13 years of Japan's imports of natural gas.

A project will get underway this year to lay a 3,000-kilometre pipeline from the field to Vladivostok in the Russian Far East.

"When the pipeline is completed, we'll be able to meet any supply requirements for gas from Japan, China and South Korea," Vladimir Vasilyev, deputy executive director of a subsidiary of state-run gas corporation Gazprom, said proudly.

In preparation for the start of gas exports from Siberia to Asian countries, a Japan-Russia joint project is underway to construct a liquefied natural gas plant in Vladivostok, with an eye to beginning operations around 2020.

Construction of the huge pipeline to Vladivostok from the gas field is a project promoted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as an embodiment of his Asian strategy. Putin is considered certain to win Russia's ming presidential election in March, returning him to his former post. There is a strong possibility he will shift the focus of his diplomacy to Asia, a growth centre of the world. The best weapon in this regard is natural resources.

"It sounds like an interesting idea," Putin reportedly said last August when he was briefed by an executive of the country's oil and gas industry about a plan to build a pipeline linking Sakhalin in the Russian Far East with Japan, where there were concerns about energy shortages in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami last year.

Putin is calling for Japan to also participate in the Chayanda development project. Russia has been edging into the Japanese energy market in recent years. Russia accounted for 4.3 per cent of Japan's gas imports in 2009, but this percentage doubled to 8.6 per cent in 2010. Russia also provided 7 per cent of Japan's crude oil imports in 2010.

Putin will pursue natural resource diplomacy toward Tokyo. Joining Russian projects would provide a chance for Japan to acquire resources and development rights, but there is also the danger that its energy security will be influenced by Russia. Many in Japan have a strong aversion to relying too much on Russia, as the two have long been at odds over four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido.

According to diplomatic sources, opinions are divided in the Japanese government, with some favouring more cooperation with Russia to break away from its heavy reliance on the Middle East. Others feel Japan should not rely on Russia for more than 15 per cent of its energy imports.

Gazprom's head office in Moscow has a control centre to supervise all its pipelines. On a map of the Eurasian continent displayed on a huge screen, the European portion glitters with brilliant fluorescent colours indicating its extensive network of pipelines. The Far East and Siberian side remains dark. Putin's ambition is to brighten the entire map.