One-Fifth of Power of Siberia Built: Gazprom
In a meeting with top Chinese officials on April 11, Gazprom said that 650km of its 3,000km Power of Siberia cross-border gas trunkline has been built to date. The pipe will supply China with Russian gas. Gazprom also noted that 927km of the pipe had been string-welded.
A temporary two-way checkpoint, already built on the international border for the trunkline’s crossing beneath the Amur river, is scheduled to open in May, said Gazprom, which will provide "unfettered access" for construction personnel and equipment.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller hosted the April 11 meeting with Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli and state-owned CNPC vice-president Wang Dongjin in Moscow, Gazprom announced the next day.
The Power of Siberia gas pipeline project will link gasfields in eastern Russia with China (Map credit: Gazprom)
CNPC and Gazprom also discussed gas storage, power generation, and natural gas vehicles; three sectors on which they had already signed memos of understanding to cooperate in 2015-16.
Gazprom in 2014 signed a sales agreement with CNPC for 38bn m3/yr over 30 years; 30bn m3/yr is to be delivered at the initial stage.
Separately Reuters reported April 12 that China Petroleum Engineering had been awarded a contract worth $2.52bn to build a large gas processing plant as part of the Power of Siberia project, citing a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange.
Mark Smedley