Aleksei Miller, the chief executive of Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom, said his company is capable of supplying the Asian market with all the natural gas it needs.
In his column on the Gazprom website, Miller wrote of the "unique large gas reserves" in the eastern part of Russia and said, "We are ready to fill the entire needs of the Asian market."
Miller said Gazprom could quickly meet increased demand, pointing out Japan will require -- and the Russian company will supply -- some 100 million tons of liquefied natural gas from Gazprom in 2012, 30 percent more than last year.
Miller said meeting the Asian market demand could be done even with Gazprom's commitments to the South Stream pipeline, which will eventually carry some 63 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Europe.
Construction of South Stream is set to start at the end of 2012.
In his column on the Gazprom website, Miller wrote of the "unique large gas reserves" in the eastern part of Russia and said, "We are ready to fill the entire needs of the Asian market."
Miller said Gazprom could quickly meet increased demand, pointing out Japan will require -- and the Russian company will supply -- some 100 million tons of liquefied natural gas from Gazprom in 2012, 30 percent more than last year.
Miller said meeting the Asian market demand could be done even with Gazprom's commitments to the South Stream pipeline, which will eventually carry some 63 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Europe.
Construction of South Stream is set to start at the end of 2012.