N. S. OSINTSEVA

Post-graduate student of Komsomolsk-on-Amur State Technical University

Russia Keywords: Asia-Pacific region, energy cooperation, investment, technology

Today, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region (APR) are showing an increased interest in Russian fuel and energy resources. The countries of North-East Asia (NEA) - Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea-attach particular importance to energy cooperation with the Russian Far East. This is due to both the high political and other risks associated with the export of Middle Eastern hydrocarbons, and the limited raw material base of the NEA states. The Russian Far East has rich reserves of oil, coal and gas, which provides favorable conditions for close energy cooperation with the countries of this region.

In April 2011, Moscow hosted the International Energy Forum "Fuel and Energy Complex of Russia in the XXI Century". Speaking at the event, Director of the World Energy Expert and Consulting Center A. I. Gromov emphasized " the priority of the eastern direction in the development of the fuel and energy complex of Russia in the XXI century."¹. The increased role of Asian countries in Russia's energy policy is confirmed by statistics. Thus, the share of the region's states in the structure of Russian gas exports from the zero position in 2008 to 2010 reached 4.5%².

During the period from 1995 to 2009, three program documents were adopted in Russia: "Energy Strategy for the period up to 2010 "(approved on October 13, 1995)," Energy Strategy for the period up to 2020" (August 28, 2003), "Energy Strategy of Russia for the period up to 2030" (November 13, 2009).

The latter document provides, in particular, "... the creation of new energy centers in the Far East and a network of developed energy infrastructure in the form of interstate gas and oil pipelines and power lines in the region " ³. To this end, a number of documents were developed and approved: the federal target program "Economic and social Development of the Far East and Transbaikalia for the period up to 2013" (adopted in 1996, subsequently adjusted several times, most recently in 2010), "Strategy for the socio - economic development of the Far East and the Baikal Region for the period up to 2025" (2009), "Strategy for the Development of the Fuel and Energy Complex of Eastern Siberia and the Far East until 2030" (2009), " Program for creating a unified gas production, transportation and supply system in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, taking into account possible gas exports to the markets of China and other Asia-Pacific countries "(2007), "Program for the development of oil refining capacities in the regions of Eastern Siberia and the Far East "(2008), "Program for the development of the Fuel and Energy Complex of Eastern Siberia and the Far East until 2030" (2005), "General Layout of electric power facilities until 2020" (2008, adjusted in 2010 until 2030)., "General Scheme for the development of the gas industry until 2030 "(2011), "General Scheme for the Development of the oil industry until 2020" (2011), "Long-term program for the development of the coal industry for the period up to 2030" (2011)⁴.

In the Far Eastern region, the production of energy resources is growing noticeably and quite rapidly. For example, its share in oil and gas production in the country in 2008 was 3% and 2%, respectively, in 2010 - 5.2% and 4.7%⁵.

Further energy development in the Russian Far East will accelerate significantly if our country manages to establish effective cooperation in this area with Asian countries. According to experts ' forecasts, the demand of these countries for energy resources will increase by 2.5 times ^by 2030.6 Domestic companies are naturally interested in taking leading positions in Asian markets. In addition, a number of our companies can supply Asia-Pacific countries with equipment, technologies and services for the extraction and processing of oil, gas and coal.

FOREIGN INVESTORS ARE EXPECTED IN THE FAR EAST

By implementing energy projects in the Far East and Asian countries, Russia is ready to attract foreign investors to this work. In Primorye, with the support of South Korean and Singaporean entrepreneurs, two shipyards have already been built, where drilling platforms and tankers and gas carriers are produced.⁷ Well-known international oil and gas projects "Sakhalin-1", "Sakhalin-2" and "Sakhalin 3-6" provide for the development of the shelf.-

rova Sakhalin using Japanese and American technologies. Opportunities for cooperation with Russian companies in the joint production of gas turbines are being explored in the Republic of Korea.⁸

American businessmen are ready to invest not only in projects focused on the primary processing of raw materials, but also in the energy infrastructure of the Russian Far East. ⁹

The main consumers of Russian energy resources are China, Japan and the United States. The "energy dialogue" between Russia and China is particularly active, with the deputy Prime Ministers of the two countries approved as its coordinators. To date, several dozen agreements have been signed between the governments and agencies of the two countries, as well as between leading Russian and Chinese energy companies on energy cooperation.¹⁰ The most significant among them are the " Agreement on Cooperation in the oil sector "(April 2009), the" Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the field of natural Gas "(June 2009)¹¹, the "Memorandum of Understanding on promoting cooperation in the field of development, production and processing of Energy resources" ¹², the agreement " Extended basic Conditions natural gas Supplies from Russia to China", signed by the heads of Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) (September 2010) ¹³.

On June 24, 2009, representatives of Russia and China signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Coal sector"in Moscow. The document regulates cooperation in such areas as the development of coal deposits, trade in coal and coal mining equipment, its maintenance, design of mines and quarries ¹⁴. It is planned to build coal briquetting plants in Russia, the products of which will be supplied to China in ^the future15.

Among the already completed large-scale projects of cooperation in the field of energy, the construction of the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean pipeline (ESPO) should be mentioned first of all. In 2010, a branch from the oil pipeline to China was built, which in 2011 began to deliver regular oil to our neighbor16.

Russia and Japan signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (May 2009)¹⁷ and a Memorandum on Cooperation in Improving Energy Efficiency and Using Renewable Energy Sources (May 2009)¹⁸.

Asian countries are interested in purchasing Far Eastern energy resources, primarily due to the geographical proximity of the Russian Far East. After all, transportation of oil, coal and liquefied gas, for example, from Russia to Japan takes only 3 - 4 days, and from the Middle East-at least 20 days ¹⁹. A gas tanker travels from Sakhalin to the ports of the Republic of Korea in 2.5 days, and from most countries of Southeast Asia-in 7 days and more than ²⁰.

In September 2007, the Ministry of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation approved the "Program for creating a unified gas production, transportation and supply system in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, taking into account possible gas exports to the markets of China and other Asia-Pacific countries" (Eastern Gas Program). In accordance with the" Program", it is planned to create four gas production centers in the eastern part of Russia - Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Yakutsk and Sakhalin, as well as to build two gas transmission systems (GTS): "Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok" and "Chayandinskoye oil and Gas condensate field (NMMC) - Blagoveshchensk-Khabarovsk" with a branch a gas pipeline to China and South Korea. On August 7, 2011, the first start - up complex of the Sakhalin - Khabarovsk-Vladivostok GTS with a capacity of ³⁰ billion cubic meters of gas per year was put into operation21.

THE INTEREST IN COOPERATION IS MUTUAL

Asia-Pacific countries are also interested in cooperation with Russia in the fuel and energy sector. This is due to the fact that the energy partnership will expand the market for Asian goods, services and technologies to Russia. Thus, South Korean shipbuilders receive more and more orders from Russia every year22. South Korean specialists are increasingly involved in the re-equipment of Russian oil refineries.

The "Russian factor" has a certain impact on the relations between the APR countries in the energy sector. Thus, the participation of the Russian company Sakhalin Energy in the tender for the conclusion of a contract agreement-

* Power transmission lines.

The contract for the supply of LNG to the Republic of Korea prompted suppliers from Indonesia to reduce the proposed gas prices by 40% (provided that the contract is concluded for at least 20 years) ^.23

However, there are a number of problems that complicate Russia's energy cooperation with the Asia-Pacific countries. Unfortunately, our country can offer the states of the region relatively few products of deep oil refining. Russian exports are dominated by crude oil. That is why it is so important to create oil and gas chemical enterprises for deep processing of primary raw materials in the Far East faster. However, this will require large investments and modern equipment, which for the most part is not produced in Russia. Therefore, Asian industrial companies should be more actively involved in the creation of hydrocarbon processing complexes in the Russian Far East. Some steps in this direction are already being taken. For example, in Eastern Siberia, on the basis of the Sobinsky gas field, a number of Russian and Japanese companies have already created and are operating a large gas chemical production facility, some of which is exported.

The Khabarovsk Territory authorities are considering the participation of Korean and American energy companies in the construction of a plant for the production of dimethyl ether and methanol. More recently, Khabarovsk hosted a meeting of representatives of the regional government with specialists of the South Korean state corporation KOGAZ and the American company Exxon Neftegaz Limited, where they discussed the joint implementation of a number of projects to create gas chemical enterprises in this Far Eastern region24.

RUSSIA IS ATTRACTIVE AND NOT VERY ATTRACTIVE...

Our Asian and American business partners are confused by the relatively higher costs of developing oil and gas fields compared to other regions of Russia. In addition, Russian hydrocarbon raw materials are quite difficult to process, as they are characterized by a high content of ethane gas, which is unsuitable for practical use, and practically useless heavy hydrocarbons. For these reasons, the existing oil refineries in Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur need modernization and technical re-equipment. And they are already underway. With the completion of the work, the oil refining technology will become more economical, and the products produced will be of higher quality and cheaper. And, presumably, more attractive to foreign buyers. In addition, a large Primorye oil refinery is being built, initially designed to use advanced modern technologies.

The weak development of transport infrastructure in the Russian Far East is also not conducive to the development of international energy cooperation. The development of the transport corridor, including the already laid China - Eurasia railway and highway lines and the Sakhalin - Khabarovsk - Vladivostok gas pipeline, will partially help solve the problem. The implementation of these projects will significantly facilitate Russia's entry into the energy market of the Asia-Pacific region25. However, it must be recognized that these very costly projects are of a "global", interregional nature. And there are no projects for the development of transport infrastructure at the local, local level, for example, in places where mineral deposits are being developed, in the Far East at all.

The apparently insufficient volume of foreign investment in energy projects in Russia's Eastern Siberia is also due to the significant costs and great technical complexity of developing new oil, gas and coal deposits. It is also hindered by the insufficiently developed regulatory and tax base in the field of mining and use of minerals in Russia.

Finally, the existing political and foreign trade differences between Russia and some countries of the Asia-Pacific region cannot be ignored. So, great difficulties arise with the Trans-Korean gas pipeline. Questions about gas prices have not been resolved.

Diagram of gas pipelines in Siberia and the Far Eastern Federal District.

energy resources with China. And the expansion of economic cooperation with Japan is hindered by Tokyo's territorial claims. ²⁶ It takes years, not months, to resolve these problems. But it is still necessary to work on their solution - even if slowly, but purposefully and consistently.

Thus, the development of fuel and energy cooperation between the Russian Far East and Asian countries - both in economic and political terms - is not an easy task. But even now, it seems advisable to involve Russian banks and credit and financial institutions of Asian countries more actively in the implementation of large-scale projects in the Russian fuel and energy complex.

We regret to admit that the countries of the Asia-Pacific region do not yet consider Russia an equal partner of international energy cooperation in the region. They consider the Russian Far East primarily as a source of raw materials and, by and large, are not interested in the development of the Far Eastern oil and gas processing industry. ²⁷ As mentioned above, the only way to reverse the situation is to introduce technologies for deep and complex processing of energy resources and thereby make this industry competitive in the Asian market. There is no other way for our fuel and energy complex to win a "place under the Asian sun".

^{Gromov A. I.} 1 Vostochny vektor energeticheskoi strategii Rossii do 2030 g. [Eastern vector of Russia's Energy Strategy until 2030] - http://www.energystrategy.ru/stat_analit/stat_analit.htm

² Ibid.

³ Energy strategy of Russia for the period up to 2030 / / website of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation - www.minenergo.gov.ru/aboutminen/energostrategy/ch_7.php

⁴ Development of the fuel and energy complex as a condition for effective development of the Russian East - http://www.combienergy.ru/stat1050p1.html

^{Bushuev V. V., Saenko V. V., Gromov A. I.} 5 Energeticheskaya strategiya Rossii 2030 i ee vostochnogo vektor [Energy Strategy of Russia 2030 and its Eastern vector]. - http://sei.irk.ru/symp2010/papers/RUS/P1-04r.pdf

^6th International Conference "Europe-Russia-Asia-Pacific. Energy: Integration and Cooperation " was held within the framework of the VII BEF - http://www.baikalforum.ru/news/816.html

⁷ Vladimir Ishaev, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, answered questions from the ITAR-TASS news agency and the South Korean newspaper Chunan Ilbo - http://www.dfo.gov.ru/index.php?id=44

^{Steklov M. M.} 8 Russian-South Korean cooperation in the energy sector: prospects and difficulties // Asia and Africa Today, 2007, N 12, p. 32.

^{Mankoff J.} 9 Russian Foreign Policy. New York, 2009, p. 123.

^{Zhiznin S. Z.} 10 Vostochnoe napravlenie [Eastern direction]. Prospects for energy cooperation between Russia and China // Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 13.04.2011 - http://www.ng.ru/energy/2011-04-13/14_rus_china.html

¹¹ Energodialog Russia-China / / website of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation - http://www.minenergo.gov.ru/china/gas/

^{Yishan X.} 12 Energy Strategy of China in a New Situation and Energy Cooperation between China and Russia // Joint symposium. August 30 - September 3, 2010 Irkutsk, Russia - http://sei.irk.ru/symp2010/en/papers.html

¹³ Gazprom and CNPC sign "Extended Basic Terms for gas supplies from Russia to China" / / Gazprom website - http://www.gazprom.ru/press/news/2010/september/articlel03480/

^{Zhiznin S. Z.} 14 Vostochnoe napravlenie [Eastern direction]...

^{Lipatov Yu} 15 Cooperation in the field of fuel and energy complex is included in the priorities of energy diplomacy of Russia and the People's Republic of China / / Oil and Gas Vertical, 15.09.2011 - http://www.ngv.ru/about/apropos/apropos1253.aspx

^{Zhiznin S. Z.} 16 Vostochnoe napravlenie [Eastern direction]...

¹⁷ Dmitry Medvedev signed the Federal Law "On Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Japan on Cooperation in the Peaceful Use of Atomic Energy", 8.01.2011 - http://kremlin.ru/news/10026

¹⁸ Memorandum on Cooperation in Improving Energy Efficiency and Using Renewable Energy Sources between the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, 12.05.2009 - http://minenergo.gov.ru/documents/soglasheniya/1145.html

¹⁹ http://www.tpp-inform.ru/economy_business/1827.html

^{Steklov M. M.} 20 Russian-South Korean cooperation ... p. 31.

²¹ http://neftegaz.ru/news/view/100008

^{Ivashentsov G.} 22 Russia - Republic of Korea: New horizons of Partnership // Mezhdunarodnaya zhizn, 2008, No. 11, p. 63.

^{Steklov M. M.} 23 Russian-South Korean cooperation... p. 35.

²⁴ Khabarovsk Krai Government discusses construction project for dimethyl ether plant, January 31, 2012 - http://www.27region.ru

²⁵ Verbatim report of the Meeting on Socio-economic Development of the Far East and Cooperation with the countries of the Asia-Pacific Region, July 2, 2010 - http://президент.рф/transcripts/8234

^{Changwei P.} 26 Structure of consumption of primary energy resources in China and cooperation prospect in gas branch of Russia and China // Joint symposium. August 30 - September 3, 2010 Irkutsk, Russia - http://sei.irk.ru/symp2010/en/papers.html

^{27 Petrunina Zh. V.} 27 The Russian Far East in the system of economic relations with the countries of North-East Asia (XXI century) / / Materials of the International scientific and Practical conference " The Russian Far East: preserving human potential and improving the quality of life of the population". Komsomolsk-on-Amur, September 19-21, 2011, p. 554.

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