Gazprom, CNPC, PipeChina sign agreement on design, construction of Far East pipeline section
ST. PETERSBURG. Nov 2 (Interfax) - Gazprom , China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network Corporation (PipeChina) have signed an agreement that regulates their cooperation on the design and construction of a cross-border section of gas pipeline across the Ussuri River near the cities of Dalnerechensk, Russia and Hulin, China.
The pipeline section is an important element of the project to supply gas from Russia to China along the Far Eastern route, Gazprom said.
A long-term purchase-sale contract for natural gas that calls for the delivery of 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year along the Far Eastern route was signed in February 2022.
Russia in June ratified an agreement with China on cooperation in the area of natural gas supplies along the so-called Far Eastern route. The agreement sets out the main conditions for cooperation on Russian gas supplies to China via the Far Eastern route, including a cross-border section of gas pipeline across the Ussuri River (Wusuli) near Dalnerechensk and Hulin.
The document stipulates the amount of customs preferences, including a provision for simplified border crossing procedures for personnel, vehicles, machinery, equipment, construction materials and consumables, and components and spare parts needed for design and survey work, construction and operation of the underwater pipeline.
It also includes a clause requiring information to be kept confidential in the course of the agreement's implementation.
The agreement also sets out the procedure for allocating ownership rights to the cross-border section of pipeline, including the underwater crossing. The demarcation point of the underwater sections will be determined on the day construction of the cross-border section of pipeline is finished and will remain unchanged for the duration of the agreement, clarification materials said.
The fulfilment of the agreement will be coordinated by Russia's Energy Ministry and China's National Energy Administration. The authorized organizations responsible for implementing the agreement are Gazprom and CNPC and PipeChina.