Rosneft capable of delivering 50 mln tonnes of oil to China - Sechin
MOSCOW. March 22 (Interfax) - Rosneft will be able to achieve 50 million tonnes of oil supplies to China, the company's president Igor Sechin said in an interview with the television channel Rossiya 24.
"China is a strategic market for Rosneft. We are already working there; we signed a long-term, 20-year contract in 2009 and are strictly executing it. Now we supply China with 15 million tonnes. The 50-million-tonne level is not unreachable. We have the resource base, the transport infrastructure is there. The ESPO works," Sechin said.
Russia and China are discussing additional deliveries of Russian crude on both the Skovorodino-Mohe spur of the ESPO [Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean] pipeline and via Kazakhstan on the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline.
Deputy Russian Energy Minister Yury Sentyurin said the ministry was drafting a bilateral agreement on additional oil deliveries to China. Rosneft has already raised the issue with the ministry, he said.
New Chinese President Xi Jinping is making a state visit to Russia on March 22-24 at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin. The Chinese leader is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on March 23.
