Russian PM expects Power of Siberia to be built on time, "western route" contract to be signed soon

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/.Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has expressed confidence that the Power of Siberia pipeline will be built in compliance with the schedule and that Moscow and Beijing will soon sign a contract on gas supplies via the "western route". "I have no doubt that all the participants /in construction/, including Gazprom will fully and timely meet their obligations," - the head of the Russian government said at the ceremony of launching the construction of the Chinese stretch of the pipeline’s "eastern route" on Monday. He took part in the ceremony in the mode of a video conference from Moscow. "I am confident that in the near future we will reach the final agreement for the construction of the second Russian-Chinese gas pipeline to supply gas via the "western route"," - he said. According to Medvedev, Russia and China will continue cooperation in energy sector, including nuclear energy. "Energy sector is one of the most important aspects of cooperation between Russia and China. We intend to cooperate further with our Chinese friends in oil and gas sector and other fields, including peaceful use of nuclear energy, coal mining industry, power sector and creation of new energy sources," - the head of the Russian government said. The construction of the Power of Siberia pipeline was officially launched in China on Monday. The ceremony was marked by welding of the first pipe joint of the pipeline near the Chinese city of Heihe, northern Heilongjiang province on the border with Russia. On May 21, 2014, Russia’s natural gas monopoly Gazprom and China’s CNPC signed an agreement of the purchase and sale of gas on the "Eastern route." The contract, signed for 30 years, envisages the supply of Russian gas to China in the amount of 38 billion cubic meters per year. The "Eastern route" provides for the delivery to China of gas from the Yakutia and Irkutsk gas production centers through the Power of Siberia main pipeline On May 8, Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed an agreement on the basic conditions of gas supplies from Russia to China through the "western route". Now the parties are expected to prepare the final contract. Earlier, Gazprom’s head Alexei Miller said that Gazprom is in talks with China on making payments for gas supplies via the "western route" in Russian and Chinese currencies. The western route envisages gas supplies to China from the fields in Western Siberia; it will be some 2,700 km long and have capacity of about 30 billion cubic meters a year, with further increase to 100 billion cubic meters. The Power of Siberia is a gas transportation system to deliver gas the Yakutsk and Irkutsk gas production centers in Siberia to Russia’s Far East and China. The pipeline’s capacity will be 61 billion cubic meters per year. The pipe’s total length is 3, 968 km. The estimated construction cost is $21.3 bln. The pipeline route will run along the existing route of the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, though swampy, mountainous and seismically active areas. Read more