This is big. There hasn't been much discussion of the new pipeline that Russia is considering building to better serve its customers. The problem is both Japan and China are big customers. They both consume huge amounts of oil. China's demand is rising rapidly but Japan has been the second biggest importer of oil for years. Both China and especially Japan are petrified about their reliance on foreign countries for raw materials. And China still bears a massive grudge against Japan (justifiably in the main) for various historical travesties.

The Japanese appear to have won out in this geo-political poker game by throwing massive amounts of money at the Russians - at least US$7 billion. The Japanese have effectively offered to build the pipline for the Russians, an offer China could never match. The ramifications for this deal are huge economically and politically for all three countries involved and more besides.

It again proves how important oil is in the world.