Putin asks Miller to consider using resources of number of regions for deliveries to China by western route through Mongolia
MOSCOW. Sept 9 (Interfax) - The western route of Russian gas exports to China could pass through Mongolia, Russian President Vladimir Putin has allowed for publically for the first time.
The gas history of the territory of the FSU has been many transit disputes. For this reason, in recent times, Gazprom has done its best to implement non-transit gas delivery projects to key customers: Nord Stream, Blue Stream. A narrow corridor of the immediate Russia-China border between Kazakhstan and Mongolia was chosen as the western route for gas exports to China. Mongolia has on numerous occasions offered its territory for transit of Russian gas to China, pointing to security, the shortness of the route and convenient lowland conditions. For the latest time last week, during a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga said that "the Russian president backed the idea, and the Chinese president promised to study Mongolia's proposal regarding construction of a gas pipeline via its territory."
Russian President Vladimir Putin asked Gazprom head Alexei Miller at a meeting at the Kremlin to consider using the resources of the Irkutsk region, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and Yamal to deliver gas to China along the western route through Mongolia.
"Vladimir Vladimirovich, as concerns the biggest project of the year, it's Power of Siberia. On December 1, gas will absolutely be sent from Russia to China. This will be an historic event, because deliveries from the biggest gas exporter in the world to the biggest importer will begin. Over 30 years, 1 trillion cubic meters of gas will be delivered to the Chinese market. China's is the most dynamic, the fastest-growing market in the world. We, together with our Chinese partners, are now studying the possibility of delivering gas to China along other routes," Miller said.
"We're considering the possibility of delivering gas along the western route and are considering the possibility of delivering gas along the Far Eastern route from the Sakhalin production center," he said.
Putin, in turn, asked Miller to return to the issue of using the resources of a number of regions to carry out deliveries along the western route to China through Mongolia. "In this connection, I would ask you to return to an issue that I have repeatedly discussed both with you and with our Chinese friends - I mean the possibility of using the resources of the Irkutsk region, the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Please also take a look at the reserves of Yamal in order to gather the necessary reserves for these deliveries along the western route to China through Mongolia," Putin said.
"I know the route there isn't easy, but a preliminary consideration of this matter showed that it's absolutely realistic, and our Chinese partners tend to agree. I ask that you study this issue and report to me," he said.