Japan is courting Russia to build a Siberia-to-Pacific pipeline, assuring the Russians the Japanese economy will have the capacity to absorb 1 million barrels of Russian oil per day, diplomatic sources said Thursday [9 January].
The Japanese made the assurance in a letter from Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma late last year, apparently in a bid to persuade Russia, which is committed to lay an inland oil pipeline to China, to build a pipeline closer to Japan.
Kawaguchi and Hiranuma told the Russians that Japan is willing to discuss financing the project, through low-cost loans from the government-operated Japan Bank for International Cooperation and financing through Japanese export credit insurance.
The Japanese government sent a senior official of the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy last December to underscore Japan's interest in the pipeline project.
