OREANDA-NEWS. December 18, 2007. Russia, the world’s largest energy producer, may miss a target to start exporting liquefied natural gas by the end of next year, causing possible delays to customers in Asia and the U.S.

Gazprom’s Sakhalin-2 LNG plant in the Pacific Ocean will start exports once construction is completed next year, Ivan Chernyakhovsky, a spokesman for project operator Sakhalin Energy, said in a telephone interview in Moscow on Monday.

“We plan to complete the main construction and commence start-up of the plant before the end of 2008,” Chernyakhovsky said. “Export is expected to start shortly thereafter.”
Sakhalin Energy previously said exports of LNG, gas chilled to a liquid for transport by tanker, would start in the third quarter of 2008. The company has signed contracts with clients including Tokyo Gas Co. and Tokyo Electric Power Co.

Chernyakhovsky declined to say whether Sakhalin Energy planned to buy cargoes of LNG to ship to its customers, or if the company could face penalties for missing delivery deadlines. Japan and South Korea are two of the world’s biggest buyers of LNG as pipelines don’t reach their territory.

“Our customers are constantly being kept informed on the project’s progress,” Chernyakhovsky said.

Sakhalin Energy Chief Executive Officer Ian Craig said in September 2006 that a one-year delay would cost the company shareholders $10 billion. The government was then threatening to pull a key permit over alleged environmental violations.