(MOSCOW, June 29, Reuters). Rosneft VP, Vlada Rusakova, said on Thursday the company was looking at building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Russia’s Far East using exclusively its own resources and gas reserves. Rosneft and U.S. energy firm Exxon have previously talked about building an LNG plant in Russia’s far east together, using gas from the Sakhalin-1 project in which both firms have a stake.
Rusakova said building a plant with Exxon still featured in Rosneft’s plans, but her suggestion that Rosneft could go it alone reflects the company’s growing ambitions, especially in Asia. Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin, one of the most influential businessmen in Russia, has said his firm plans to become the world’s third-largest producer of gas early next decade. Rosneft has been lobbying for access to a gas pipeline to China being built by Gazprom, which currently has a monopoly on Russian pipeline gas exports. It said on Thursday it was looking at cooperating with Beijing Gas in Russia’s far east and east Siberia in exploration, production of hydrocarbons and gas marketing.