Russia to boost gas supply to China – official

Russia will increase natural gas exports to China by nearly 50% this year, as Moscow is steering towards greater energy cooperation with Beijing, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Sunday.

In an interview with the Russia-1 TV channel, Novak declared that last year Moscow supplied 15 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to China and pledged to increase deliveries to 22 bcm this year. Novak also announced that, in the next two years, supplies via the Power of Siberia gas pipeline would reach their full capacity of 38 bcm annually.

China currently gets most of its Russian gas through this mega pipeline, which is a section of the so-called Eastern Route. It was partially launched in December 2019, becoming the first pipeline to supply Russian gas to China. The Eastern Route includes the 3,000km-long Power of Siberia pipeline in Russia and a section in China that extends to 5,111km.

The Power of Siberia is part of a $400 billion, 30-year agreement between Russia’s Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation, which was inked in May 2014.

In February, Moscow and Beijing signed an agreement for additional natural gas supplies to China via the Eastern Route. The countries are now working on the Power of Siberia 2 energy project, which involves the construction of a gas pipeline to China through the territory of Mongolia.

Novak also noted that Moscow has abandoned the US dollar and euro in energy trade with Beijing, with most settlements for oil, gas and other resources conducted in Chinese yuan and Russian rubles.

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