Russian energy major Gazprom is to hold talks with Beijing on the route of its second pipeline to deliver natural gas from Russia to China said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich.
Read more
The Power of Siberia-2 or the so-called western route pipeline is expected to deliver 30 billion cubic meters of gas.
“The interest in the construction of the route remains… the approaches regarding its implementation are different,” said Dvorkovich after the meeting of the Russian-Chinese intergovernmental commission on fuel and energy cooperation on Wednesday.
He said negotiations will continue during the visit by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller to China. Dvorkovich said, “talks on the Far Eastern route have reached more progress.”
Gazprom is currently building the Power of Siberia gas pipeline known as the eastern route. It is one of the biggest joint projects between Russia and China. The deal took more than a decade to negotiate.
The eastern route will pump natural gas from the Chayanda oil and gas condensate deposit in Yakutia and the Kovykta gas condensate field in the Irkutsk Region of Eastern Siberia. Gas will be delivered to the domestic market and exported to China.
Deliveries via the eastern route could start next year. According to Gazprom, 115 kilometers (71 miles) of the pipeline’s 3,000 kilometers across Russian territory were constructed in 2015.
In May 2014, Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed a 30-year deal worth $ 400 billion to deliver 38 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to China annually.
Beijing may increase imports of gas to 190-270 billion cubic meters per year as it aims to shift from coal to more eco-friendly energy, said CNPC International Department head Li Yueqiang.
Experts say Russia will be one of China’s main providers of natural gas as demand in the country increases.
