Energy Minister comments on priorities for Far East

Russian Energy Minister Igor Yusufov commented on the development ofRussia's Far East and linked priorities for this region to natural gasproduction. The Minister spoke at a meeting devoted to the social andeconomic development of the Far East in Vladivostok today and commented onthe development of gas deposits in Eastern Siberia, the Sakha Republic andSakhalin. He stressed these gas deposits would provide the Far East withcheap fuel and enable it to export energy.According to the Energy Minister, the development of deposits in EasternSiberia and Sakha would require $30bn in investments and it would continueuntil 2020. Another problem that he mentioned was that China, a potentialimporter of energy from the Far East, did not agree to proposed prices..