Posted on 07/03/2003 9:03:37 AM PDT by RussianConservative
TOKYO (Reuters) -- A proposed pipeline to bring east Siberian oil to Asia is not only vital to Japan's drive to diversify its energy sources, but can also make commercial sense, Japan's top energy official said Wednesday.
"Oil is an international commodity and naturally customers want competitive prices in the international market. We will prove through detailed studies that we can meet this demand," said Iwao Okamoto, head of Japan's Natural Resources Agency.
Eager to diversify its oil sources, import-dependent Japan is courting Moscow to persuade it to opt for a proposal to build a pipeline from eastern Siberia to the Pacific port of Nakhodka over a rival Chinese plan for a route to Daqing.
"We would by all means like Russia to realize the pipeline to Nakhodka to bring Russian oil to the big market of East Asia and the Asia-Pacific, including Japan," Okamoto said.
The West is trying to establish alternative sources for Middle East oil as the Fall of the House of Saud becomes inevitable.
Good for Russia, good for Japan. The economic activity is Siberia could also reaffirm the Russian presence there as a bulwark to Chinese ideas of expansion. The Bering Sea trade between Russia and Alaska could increase too.
All the way around, this is a positive engagement.
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