31 Aug 2022 14:25

Gazprom starts designing pipeline to China from Russian Far East

MOSCOW. Aug 31 (Interfax) - Gazprom is starting to design a gas pipeline to China from the Russian Far East, Alexei Miller, the Russian gas giant's CEO, said on a conference call to mark Oil and Gas Industry Workers Day.

"The Eastern Program, of course, is in no small measure aimed at expanding our export opportunities to supply gas to the Chinese market. We know that the Chinese market is the most dynamic market in the world, and over the next 20 years, according to forecasts, gas consumption growth in China will be 40% of global gas consumption growth. Therefore, we have signed another contract for gas supplies to China. This is the 'Far Eastern' route. We are already working on design specifications and estimates for this project," Miller said.

"And, of course, there is the Soyuz Vostok project, a trunk gas pipeline through Mongolia, which will be a continuation of the Power of Siberia 2 trunk gas pipeline," he said.

Processing is becoming an important area for the company at present. "We are implementing two of the biggest projects in this sector - a plant in Ust-Luga and a plant in Svobodny. The Amur Gas Processing Plant, as you know, is being built on schedule, and the current construction status of the project is 86%. We are also working to modernize processing facilities in other regions of the country," Miller said.

Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed a contract on February 3, 2022 to supply 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year over 25 years.

For deliveries to China, it is necessary to build a short, 25 km branch from the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok pipeline, which runs along the Chinese border. This will consist of the trunk pipeline branch, a gas metering station and a natural gas treatment plant; and possibly additional gas treatment and drying facilities.