YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, Russia, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Gazprom, faced with rising competition on the liquefiednatural gas (LNG) market, voiced strong opposition on Wednesdayto plans by Rosneft and Exxon to build theirown LNG plant in Russia.
Victor Timoshilov, the head of the company's OrientalProjects Coordination Directorate, also said that Gazprom isready to continue talks with Exxon about gas purchases from theExxon-operated Sakhalin-1 project.
Earlier this year, Rosneft and ExxonMobil agreed on a $15billion LNG project in Russia's Far East to supply Asia-Pacificmarkets that would challenge Gazprom's monopoly on Russian gasexports.
"We think that the project is a superfluous... They don'thave to build the plant, the infrastructure is already inplace," Timoshilov told reporters.
Currently, only one LNG-producing plant is operating inRussia - the 10 million tonnes per year Sakhalin-2 project builtby Shell, in which Gazprom acquired a controlling stakeseveral years ago.