Gazprom: Power of Siberia 'crosses equator' with 1,120 km built, to reach 1,340 km by year-end
MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax) - Gazprom has now built more than half of the length of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline to China - 1,120 kilometers of the linear section out of the pipeline's total length of 2,158 km - and the company expects to have 1,340 km of the pipeline completed by year-end, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told reporters on the sidelines of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's visit to China.
"Today 15,000 people and over 6,000 units of equipment have been mobilized for construction of Power of Siberia. About 2,000 km of large diameter pipe has been delivered and before the end of the year we will be fully equipped with pipe for the first section of the 2,158-km pipeline. As of now we have 'crossed the equator:' 1,120 km of Power of Siberia has been built and 1,348 km has been welded into line. As of year-end, about 1,340 km of the gas pipeline will be built," Miller said.
"On the sidelines of Prime Minister Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev's visit, we discussed in detail the current status of joint projects. The main focus of course is tied to gas supplies to China on Power of Siberia. Both we and the Chinese partners have absolute confidence and clear understanding that this will begin by the target date: December 20, 2019. The pace of implementation of this most extensive gas sector project in the world is the pledge for that confidence," he said.
"We are also seeing significant progress in construction of the Power of Siberia border crossing across the Amur River. Drilling of the tunnel for the reserve line of the underwater crossing has been completed and in December drilling of the tunnel for the main line will begin," Miller said.
"In addition, we have commenced building one other important Power of Siberia facility: the Atamanskaya compressor station. It will provide the contract pressure at the border with China. This is 120 atmospheres, the same as the most modern Gazprom gas pipelines in the world, from the Yamal Peninsula. In parallel, we are working with the resource base. The first gas will be supplied to Power of Siberia from the Chayandinskoye field in Yakutia," Miller said.
Construction of the gas and oil production facilities at the Chayandinskoye oil, gas and condensate field is currently more than 25% complete, according to Interfax information.
"Construction is proceeding intensively, including production drilling, which is ahead of schedule. The quay in the village of Peledui, whose construction we completed this year, is ready to receive outsize cargo shipments for production facilities," Miller said.
"China's economy firmly stands on 'gas rails.' We are seeing that in January-September this year, consumption of gas in China rose 18% to 168 billion cubic meters (bcm). In absolute terms this is 26 bcm. China is increasing gas imports at a faster and faster pace, by 22% in the first nine months to 67 bcm, of which LNG accounts for 53%. The reason is understandable: domestic production is growing more slowly and pipeline supplies from Central Asia do not meet current demand. China may once more face shortages of gas this heating season. Definitely, gas supplies from Russia and the high reliability that Gazprom provides will enable China to do away with the acute issue of covering peak winter demand."
Miller praised Chinese First-ranked Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli's contribution to the development of Russian-Chinese cooperation in energy and finance. "A substantial expansion in the area of our strategic partnership literally in the last few years is to a large extent attributable to Zhang Gaoli," Miller said.