The state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom is ready to increase its gas supplies to China via an existing gas pipeline from Russia called Power of Siberia.
At the same time, the company has signed a declaration that a new pipeline called Power of Siberia 2 will be established. It will run from northwestern Siberia via Mongolia to China. This was stated by Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom, to Russian media according to the Reuters news agency.
The supplies of gas via the existing Power of Siberia gas pipeline will be increased from 38 billion cubic meters per year to 44 billion cubic meters. The upcoming gas pipeline, Power of Siberia 2, will be able to supply 50 billion cubic meters of gas to China each year. It is not clear who will build the gas pipeline. It is also unknown how it will be financed and when it will be completed.
The announcement about the new gas pipeline comes at the same time as Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. According to the state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua, the two heads of state signed more than 20 documents on cooperation on Tuesday.
The documents deal with cooperation in a number of areas. The energy sector is one of them. Russia has been working to increase its gas supplies to China after supplies to Europe have dropped significantly as a result of Russia's war in Ukraine.
The amount of gas that Russia will be able to send to China with the expansion of Power of Siberia and the establishment of Power of Siberia 2 will, however, be far from the amounts that Russia previously sent to Europe.
Russia's gas exports to Europe peaked around 2018, when 177 billion cubic meters of gas were sent to European countries. The year before the Russian invasion of Ukraine - in 2021 - European countries covered 45 percent of their gas consumption with gas imported from Russia. Today, 18 percent of the gas that Europe imports comes from Russia.
Updated 13:36
/ritzau/
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