Russia is negotiating possible supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bahrain with financing from Russia’s Vnesheconombank (VEB), the bank’s CEO Vladimir Dmitriyev, who chairs the Russian-Bahraini Business Council, told TASS News Agency on Monday.
“It might be either Gazprom or independent gas producers. Russian gas might compete successfully with all other suppliers,” Dmitriyev said.
Dmitriyev is currently in Bahrain as a member of the Russian delegation to a meeting with representatives of the governments and businessmen of the Gulf countries.
The Vnesheconombank CEO said that Russia was able to supply several billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas a year to Bahrain with its population of 1.2 million. Bahrain has no sources of natural gas and its oil reserves are running short. Talks with closest gas exporters Qatar and Iran are complicated due to political contradictions. Bahrain plans to open an LNG terminal in 2015.
Vnesheconombank finances the Yamal-LNG project, whose shareholders are Russia’s Novatek, France’s Total and China’s CNPC.