Gazprom pushes on with Korea gas pipeline

MOSCOW, September 16 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Gazprom monopoly
signed on Thursday two agreements with the North and South of Korea to
push on the construction of a gas pipeline to the divided Korean Peninsula
which was long abandoned because of political risks.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller met North Korean Oil Minister Kim Hui-Yong
and agreed to set up a joint taskforce that will be in charge of project
implementations. They signed a memorandum of understating and stressed the
necessity of all-round government support to the project and of an early
signing of an inter-governmental agreement, Gazprom said.
Miller then met President of the South Korean Gas Corporation Kogas
Choo Kang-Soo to sign a road map for the construction of the gas pipeline.
"Alexei Miller informed Choo Kang-Soo that Gazprom had commissioned
the first complex of the gas transportation system
Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok and created all the necessary conditions
for supplies of the Russian gas to the world market from the area of
Vladivostok," Gazprom said.
Miller also supported the nomination of Choo Kang-Soo for the post of
the president of the World Gas Union in 2015-2018.
The project which is to deliver Siberian natural gas to South Korea
via the communist North gained momentum after a meeting of Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev with visiting North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in
August.
Last week South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said the project could
move forward "faster than expected".
"North Korea and Russia are in talks and we are also in talks with
Russia. There will be a point where the three parties reach an agreement.
I think it will proceed faster than expected," Lee said adding "It will be
great if the project materializes."