Pipeliners

March 16 (Bloomberg by Shinhye Kang) -- Korea Gas Corp., the world’s biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas, is seeking to take part in a Russian pipeline project to connect fields at Sakhalin with the port of Vladivostok near the North Korean frontier. Joining the development of the 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) link proposed by OAO Gazprom may help the country secure a stable supply of the fuel, Yoon Byung Cheol, leader of the Russia Project Team at Korea Gas, said today by phone from Seongnam. South Korea is turning to Russia, holder of the world’s biggest proven gas reserves, as it faces stronger competition for energy from China and Japan. Korea Gas signed an initial accord with Gazprom in September to import 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually for 30 years, equivalent to almost a quarter of the country’s yearly needs, starting in 2015. South Korea is seeking the consent of North Korea to build an overland pipeline on its territory to Vladivostok. If that fails, supplies may be delivered by an undersea pipeline, a costlier option, Yoon said. Russia has a 19-kilometer frontier near Vladivostok with North Korea, which is separated from South Korea by a heavily armed border.