The Italian energy concern signs agreements to sell liquefied natural gas to South Korea and Japan. The USA and Russia are already challenging in Asian energy market as well as Norwegian concern Statoil.
An energy concern of a country which is seriously dependent on gas supplies from abroad aims to become a world oil company which challenges USA and Russia's energy cold war in Asia.
On Friday 1/11, Italian energy concern ENI signed agreements with South Korean Korea Gas Corp. and Japanese Chubu Electric Power to export 1,7 Million of Tons to South Korea and Japan in next 4 years.
The agreement places ENI inside the Asian market, in which the USA and Russia are already challenging in order to obtain the control of a raising energy market.
The US democratic Administration of President Barack Obama fostered Washington's attention to Asia and raised liquefied shale gas exports to India, South Korea, Indonesia and Singapore.
In particular, the USA signed with Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India company an agreement of cooperation in shale gas exploitation. South Korean Kogas and E1 companies agreed with Washington the import of 180 thousand of tons of shale liquefied gas per year.
Russia, which wasn't able to establish a contract for gas supplies to China because of high prices wanted by Moscow from Pekin, started the realization of a LNG station in Yamal, in order to start exporting liquefied natural gas to Indonesia, Australia and Japan.
Tokyo signed agreements with Moscow to import LNG from Russia. Moreover, Japanese company Hitachi declared the intention to cooperate in Southstream pipeline realization.
Southstream is a project planed by Russian national gas major Gazprom and ENI to raise the EU energy dependence on Russia, whose gas supplies already cover the 40% of the European total energy need.
ENI is not the one company which is present in gas Cold War for Asia together with the USA and Russia.
Last November, Norwegian energy concern Statoil sent a 135 tcm of LNG expedition to Japan from Snohevit gas field.
Snohevit is exploited by Statoil, german company RWE, and French companies Suez Gaz de France and Total.
Matteo Cazzulani
