Gazprom, the largest gas company in the world, has offered to sell Israel 4 billion cum/yr of gas, that would be transported through a subsea pipeline from Turkey. The value of the gas is estimated at $400 million/yr, based on present prices paid by Israel. The project will require a forecast investment of $1.5 billion, in spite of which the Russians are understood to have committed themselves to supplying the gas at a price that is competitive with any other gas supplier. The chairman of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, who is very close to Putin, visited Israel in 2004 and met with Sharon on the issue of gas sales. As a result of the visit, a joint team from the Finance and Infrastructure Ministries has been meeting to examine the economic and technological implications of laying the pipeline.