MOSCOW (Kyodo) The Japanese government on Monday began considering offering a larger subsidy than initially planned to encourage Japanese companies to join a Siberian oil field exploration project planned by Russia, according to well-placed sources.
The subsidy plan is designed to enable Japan to secure concessions linked to an east Siberian oil field near Lake Baikal and counteract Chinese attempts to persuade Russia to send Siberian oil to China, the sources said.
Although major Japanese oil explorer Inpex Corp. and trading houses have considered joining the Siberian project, they are waffling in view of the lack of a Russian government guarantee that Moscow will build a pipeline that could deliver oil up to the Russian Pacific coast.