The world’s biggest natural-gas producer plans to sign 20-year contracts in 2010’s first half to use gas-import terminals on the U.S. Gulf and East coasts, said John Hattenberger, head of Gazprom’s energy-trading unit in Houston to Bloomberg.com.
-North America would be a key target market, Hattenberger said. He sees U.S. gas demand “roaring back” as the economy recovers.
Contracts for capacity at North American LNG terminals must be in place before Gazprom makes a final investment decision on the Shtokman project, Hattenberger said. The company has a contract to import gas from another Russian LNG project, Sakhalin-2, at Sempra Energy’s Energia Costa Azul plant in Baja California, Mexico.
