Sakhalin invites China to supply technology for, buy product from oil and gas projects

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. May 23 (Interfax) - The government of Sakhalin Region has invited Chinese businesses to participate in oil and gas projects in the eastern Russian region, as well as the construction of an oil refinery and the purchase of its products, the regional government's press service reported.

A delegation from the northern Chinese province of Heilongjiang is visiting Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and met with Governor Valery Limarenko on Monday.

"We held business negotiations on several areas. Foremost we are interested in having businesses from countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including from China, join our oil and gas projects that American and European companies have left, both as buyers of finished product and as suppliers of technological solutions for extraction and processing," Limarenko was quoted as saying in the press release.

He invited Chinese businesses to participate in the project to build the Sakhalin Oil Refinery and enter into contracts to buy its products. "The construction of such a large oil refinery is initially aimed at big international markets and needs foreign buyers of its products," Limarenko said.

Other possible areas of cooperation offered to the Chinese delegation included a project to build a logistics center at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk airport; the construction of a new cargo port in the Poronaisky district on the eastern coast of Sakhalin Island; the modernization of the Korsakov seaport, the region's largest, after which it will be able to accommodate all types of vessels, including gas tankers; and projects in the agribusiness sector.

"We see great potential in cooperation. We will tell businesses about this in detail and make a decision," the press service quoted Heilongjiang Vice Governor Wang Yixin, who led the delegation, as saying.