Report: Russia, China yet to define gas exports via western route

MOSCOW, Jun 2 (PRIME) – Russia and China are yet to define the amount of natural gas exports through the so-called western route, Wang Yilin, chairman of the board of directors of China National Petroleum Corporation, said in an interview to Rossiya 24 television channel broadcast on Thursday.

“The project of the western route is also important for us, but the two routes are very different, and the main difference is the target market…Speaking of figures, I heard the figure of 30 billion cubic meters from mass media, but I can’t confirm that. The exact amount will be defined later during negotiations,” he said.

He said that the price may differ from the price of the eastern route and will be based on market principles.

“The eastern route and western route are hardly comparable. The eastern route is close to the distribution area, while the western is at a large distance. We have fully formed the client base for the eastern route, but we will have to fight for the market for the western route. We are to discuss the model of cooperation with Russia under the project,” he said.

In May 2014, Russian gas giant Gazprom and CNPC signed a contract to supply up to 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year via the Sila Sibiri (Power of Siberia) pipeline, or the eastern route. The pipeline will be around 4,000 kilometers long. Gazprom plans to launch gas delivery through the eastern route in 2019 at an initial amount of 5 billion cubic meters.

In May 2015, Gazprom and CNPC signed an agreement on main conditions of gas supplies via the western route. It is expected that the capacity of the project’s first stage will stand at 30 billion cubic meters annually.

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