Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Singapore where he will be hoping to secure a bigger foothold for energy supplies and LNG investment among Asia's fastest-growing economies.

Bilateral talks between Putin's delegation, including energy minister Alexander Novak, and delegations from some of the region's biggest economies including Japan, South Korea and Indonesia are being held in conjunction with the Russian-ASEAN dialog and East Asian Summit.

Asia is a growing market for Russian energy, including LNG, and a potential source of investment for the world's largest producer of resources and minerals. The Kremlin has increasingly looked to build its presence in the Asian region following the imposition of tough sanctions by the US on Russia.

In a statement released on Wednesday following a meeting between Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Novak described energy deliveries From Russia to Japan as "high and stable."

"In the first half of 2018, there was a growth in LNG supplies to 4.7 million mt, and coal exports rose by 200,000 mt to 8.1 million mt," Novak said.

Japanese companies hold significant stakes in the Sakhalin 1 and Sakhalin 2 projects offshore Russia's Far East as well as Yamal LNG. "Japanese partners are looking into joining other LNG projects in Russia," Novak said, according to the statement.

Russia and Japan have an advisory energy council, which includes three working groups covering hydrocarbons, atomic energy and energy efficiency.

Novak also took part in a meeting between Putin and South Korean President Moon Jae-In.

"From January to June 2018, oil product deliveries rose by 900,000 mt to 2.7 million mt, and LNG deliveries by 500,000 mt to 1.5 million mt, year on year. Oil and coal exports were also at a high level in the period, totaling 5.3 and 12.8 million mt respectively," Novak said, according to a ministry statement released after the meeting.

Novak also participated in Putin's meeting with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

"Deliveries of Russian energy resources - oil, oil products and coal -- to Thailand are stable. Considering the importance of natural gas for power generation in Thailand, and also growth in indicators of gas consumption, Russian companies are interested in organized deliveries of LNG to Thailand," Novak said, according to the statement. Russian oil companies are also considering taking part in power generation projects in Thailand.

Following a meeting with Malaysian officials, Novak said that Russian companies want to increase energy cooperation with Malaysia.

"Our companies successfully cooperate on oil production in third countries," Novak said. "Russian business would like to continue to increase our bilateral cooperation, this applies not only to production, but also exploration of oil and gas resources as well as oil products and LNG supplies to the local market."

Following a meeting between Putin and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Novak described Russia and Indonesia as natural partners in the energy sector.

He added that Zarubezhneft and Novatek are interested in joining Indonesian oil and gas projects and that Rosneft is taking part in the Tuban oil refinery project with Pertamina. Future cooperation could include hydropower, nuclear and renewable energy projects.

--Rosemary Griffin, rosemary.griffin@spglobal.com

--Edited by Jonathan Fox, newsdesk@spglobal.com