A huge pipeline stretching from Russia’s far east to an industrial hub near Tokyo is now being planned by Japan. The new plan has been made as Japan eyes new energy supplies, especially after the Fukushima crisis.
The new project is estimated to be worth 400 billion yen which and have a 1,400 kilometer long offshore pipeline, which would start in Russia’s Sakhalin island, it would then trace a course along the Pacific coastline towards the south near Japan’s capital.
The firm that will be starting the project is among a group of companies that includes the Japan Petroleum Exploration and Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal. The move has also come as Japan is now in search of new energy supplies, after it shut down its nuclear reactors and is now starving for energy.
Even the remaining stable nuclear reactors in Japan have been shut down after last year’s tsunami disaster, which led to heavy nuclear crisis. Energy costs have shot up as Japan has turned towards pricey fossil fuel alternatives, as anti-nuclear sentiments are still strong among the people, following the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi plant last year. If the project is approved, it would take about five to seven years to complete and would help in reducing the cost of gas imported overseas.
