Putin: Russia to expand power industry ties with Asia Pacific region

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia plans to expand power industry interaction with countries of the Asia Pacific region, President Vladimir Putin has said, according to RIA Novosti.

“We export large quantities of natural gas to European countries. At the same time, we see that energy resources are playing an ever more important part in speeding up economic growth in the Asia Pacific region,” Putin told a two-day summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Bali, Indonesia, Monday, October 8.

“We are aware of our responsibility in this sector and therefore plan to expand our energy sector cooperation with our partners in Asia. This concerns several different areas: fossil fuels, and advanced technology too,” the Russian leader said, according to a translation of his speech posted on the Kremlin website.

“Abundant oil and gas resources are our natural competitive advantage,” Putin said, adding that Russia has “already built a big oil pipeline system running to the Pacific coast.” He apparently referred to the East Siberia - Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline.

“This project set records in effectiveness and was built in record quick time. It runs several thousand kilometers from Siberia to the Pacific Ocean, with a branch line running to Daqing in China. This has helped to develop a new global energy market for our brand of oil,” the Russian president said.

“As for gas, we have big possibilities in this sector and are carrying out a number of projects,” he said, adding that Russia would “soon take steps to develop the liquefied natural gas trade.”