Gazprom and CNPC agree on additional volumes of gas shipments via Power of Siberia pipeline through end of 2023
MOSCOW. Oct 19 (Interfax) - Gazprom and the Chinese CNPC signed an addendum to the gas purchase and sale agreement via the eastern route (Power of Siberia) for an additional volume of Russian gas supplies to China through the end of 2023, the company reported following a meeting of the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CNPC (China) Dai Houliang.
According to the initial schedule for increasing shipments, it was planned they would increase to 22 bcm in 2023.
During the One Belt, One Road Forum, Miller said that "the Power of Siberia will soon reach full capacity, and then Gazprom will become the largest supplier of gas to China".
According to experts' estimates, global GDP should more than double by 2050. Economic growth will drive up energy demand by more than 20% by mid-century. Natural gas will also continue to grow in importance: by 2050, its share in the global energy mix will reach 26% and it will become the leader among all energy sources.
The growth prospects for gas consumption are mainly related to Asia. The main driver of this growth will be China with its dynamically developing and fast-growing economy. In a fairly short period of time - from 2016 to 2022 - gas demand in China has almost doubled to 370 billion cubic meters, i.e. by more than 160 billion cubic meters. This is comparable to the total volume of gas consumption in 2022 by Germany and the UK - the Europe leader in terms of consumption. At the same time, according to experts' forecasts, China's gas consumption will almost double on the horizon up to 2040, Gazprom's press service said.
In 2022, Gazprom and CNPC signed a long-term contract for another route - from the Far East - to supply 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually. Infrastructure design is currently underway. "Gazprom and CNPC are discussing another project - pipeline delivery of 50 billion cubic meters of gas to China via Mongolia - the Soyuz Vostok project, which will be a continuation of the prospective Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline."
At the meeting with Houliang, Miller also discussed these projects. "The meeting noted successful cooperation between the companies in other areas, including cooperation in the areas of underground gas storage, scientific and technical development and personnel training," the statement said.
During the meeting, Gazprom and CNPC also signed an updated version of the agreement on cooperation in the field of mutual recognition of standards and conformity assessment results to replace the one in force since 2016.
"The negotiations on all issues of cooperation in the gas sector were held in a very constructive and substantive manner. This year, the growth of gas supplies via the Power of Siberia has already amounted to 46.6% compared to the same period last year. "Gazprom is ready to further increase supplies and reliably provide Chinese partners with natural gas along the agreed routes," Miller said.