Putin harnessing Russia’s energy

Deep beneath the thick forests of Siberia near Lake Baikal lies a vast deposit of natural gas known as Kovytka, a field so large that it contains three times the amount of gas the entire United States uses in a year.

Its reserves could feed a ravenous market in China, which is close by, or even those beyond. But after a decade of work and millions in investments, the only customer its private developers have so far is a tiny logging village happy to replace its soot-belching, coal-fired power plant with gas, at steeply discounted prices.

The reason is:
find out at International Herald Tribune