Gazprom, PetroChina Sign Deal For Western Route
As largely anticipated on Thursday, Russia is seeing in China the only real shoulder to push forward its plan to remain a key player in the world. On Friday, this intention translated into a deal signed by Gazprom and PetroChina for the western route of the Russian system to export gas to China.
“The main conditions for this project’s implementation were cemented today in the agreement signed between Gazprom and PetroChina” Russian President Vladimir Putin commented, as reported by documents uploaded on the Kremlin’s website.
According to Gazprom, the contract period for the so-called Altai pipeline will be 30 years. Upon reaching design capacity, the supply volume is 30 billion cubic meters a year.
The real news would have been if Russia opened the door of its onshore fields to Chinese companies. But this remain just fictitious. At the moment, Beijing’s companies will be only able to take stakes in Russian Arcitic and Sakhalin offshore fields.
Some changes, though, could be around the corner.
“Work is underway to examine and prepare our Chinese partners’ participation in developing the large Vankor oil and gas field in the north of Krasnoyarsk Territory” Putin claimed, adding that the relationship between the two countries is more encompassing, touching upon the financial, the industrial, the transport, the media, the nuclear sector and comprising economic support.
Friday's deal also included a China-led transportation project to connect Asia to Europe.
“We think that the Eurasian integration project and the Silk Road Economic Belt project complement each other very harmoniously. The Joint Declaration I signed today with President Xi Jinping speaks precisely of these possibilities for integrating these models. Essentially, we seek ultimately to reach a new level of partnership that will create a common economic space across the entire Eurasian continent.”
Last year, China and Russia reached a $400 billion agreement for 38 billion cubic metres of Russian gas annually from 2018 for 30 years.
TURKEY
Almost at the same time, while Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping were shaking hands, Gazprom officials sent conciliatory messages to Iran, saying that the two countries are natural partners. According to Sergei Lasutenko, the sanctions against the two countries are pushing Teheran and Moscow closer.
EUROPEAN RESPONSE?
Apparently, the European Commission is working on the deal struck by Gazprom and Ankara earlier this week. Trend reported that the European Commission is analysing the economic viability of the plans, checking out the legal feasibility and consequences of the agreeement.
“We had very efficient and crucial talks today. It was agreed to bring onstream Turkish Stream and to start gas supplies in December 2016” Miller commented on Thursday.
Also on Friday, the Ukrainian government inked new energy efficiency laws.
‘New laws are aimed at creating more comfortable conditions in hospitals, kindergartens, schools and other budgetary institutions through attraction of private investors to undertake a large-scale energy retrofitting’ the Ukrainian government wrote.