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Natural gas imports from the Soviet Union: financing the North Star joint venture project

Book ·
OSTI ID:7339779

This study examines the feasibility of exchanging USSR natural gas for U.S. technical and managerial know-how under the special financial arrangements of a joint venture. The United States would participate in the development of Soviet natural gas resources in exchange for payment in the form of production from the developed resources. Ideological-institutional constraints of the planned and free-market systems are analyzed. USSR natural gas reserves as well as production and consumption trends are projected, and Soviet technical and managerial needs are determined in order to evaluate the availability of natural gas for export. The investment risk or the cost of U.S. services is compared against the Soviet ability to pay in the form of gas exports or in gold or hard-currency trade surplus earnings. The project, known as ''North Star'', concerns the movement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from western Siberia to the U.S. East Coast port of Philadelphia and involves gas wells, pipelines, liquefaction plants, and LNG tankers. Although the book is intended as a case study for the ''North Star'' project, the findings are believed applicable to other Soviet proposals. (MCW)

OSTI ID:
7339779
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English