China, Russia finalise plans for gas pipeline
October 9, 2014, 4:45 pm

Joining of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline’s first section in Yakutia, Russia on 1 September 2014 [PPIO]

In Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev pledged on Thursday comprehensive support to Russian state-run energy giant Gazprom and China’s CNPC in the design and construction of gas transport infrastructure for the pipeline.

“Comprehensive assistance will be rendered to these companies at the level of the governments in designing, construction and operation of the gas transportation infrastructure required for Russian natural gas supplies to our Chinese partners,” news agency Itar Tass quoted Medvedev as saying in a government meeting.

The China part of the pipeline originates in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province and terminates in Shanghai.

Work is expected to begin in 2015, the CNPC said in Beijing on Thursday.

Each section has received separate approval by China’s National Development and Reform Commission, CNPC said.

From 2018, 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas will flow into China via the pipeline each year.

Russia plans to sign a 30-year gas supply contract with China via the western route, Russian energy giant Gazprom’s CEO Alexei Miller told President Vladimir Putin last month.

The route to supply gas to China via western Siberia may be implemented faster than the eastern route.

Miller also said Gazprom might consider more than doubling the volume of supply.

“We plan to sign a contract for a volume of 30 billion cubic metres for 30 years, though the talks have also looked at other figures for new contracts concluded for the western route. We are looking at the possibilities for supplying 60 billion cubic metres or up to 100 billion cubic metres of gas to China,” Miller told Putin in Moscow.

“Chinese and Russian energy departments are busy with negotiations on the construction of the West Route gas pipeline. We believe there will be progress this year,” Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping said on Wednesday at a news briefing ahead of Premier Li Keqiang’s Russia visit.

The Chayandin and Kovyktin gas fields in eastern Siberia will become major supply sources when the pipeline begins pumping natural gas to China in 2018. The Russian side will export 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China through the pipeline every year for 30 years starting in 2018.

Construction of the China- Russia East Route natural gas pipeline started this month in this eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk.

The two sides have also jointly built and put into operation a China-Russia oil pipeline in the Far East.

In 2013, China imported 24.35 million tons of crude oil, 27.28 million tons of coal and 3.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity from Russia.

TBP and Agencies