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Russia readies pipelines for gas delivery to China
June 19, 2014, 4:40 am

 

The east route pipeline will start providing China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2018 [AP]

The east route pipeline will start providing China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2018 [AP]

Even as the gas price row between Russia and Ukraine continues unabated, Russia’s energy giant Gazprom said Wednesday it will start welding seams of its major pipeline for gas supplies to China in August.

“We have a clear action plan. We have distributed all duties and we have set tough deadlines,” Gazprom said in a statement, citing company CEO Alexei Miller.

Russia signed a mammoth 30-year deal worth $400bn to deliver gas to China.

“Our goal is to weld Power of Siberia’s first joint as soon as August,” the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Miller as saying.

The east route pipeline will start providing China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2018.

After the US and the EU imposed economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, the Russian government pushed diversification of gas supplies away from traditional energy markets in Europe to those of energy hungry Asia.

Also on Wednesday, vice president of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said the company and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have inked a $25 billion advance payment agreement for gas supply.

He said Gazprom will also carry out further negotiations with CNPC on the gas supply of west line and the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in near term.

 

Source: Agencies