NYT: Gazprom Makes a New Gas Deal With China
Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, is adding substance to the Kremlin’s plan to shift its economic focus to Asia, as the company signs its second major gas deal with China this year.
The deal for a new natural gas pipeline gives Russia additional leverage should tensions persist with the West. Although it would take years to complete, the pipeline would enable exports to China from Russia’s existing Siberian energy fields.
Eventually, the deal means Russia could ship more to China than to Germany, now its largest customer. The pipeline, in theory, could also be used to divert energy supplies, currently headed to Europe, to Asia.
“We’re putting ambitious goals before us, and are sure they will be fulfilled,” ’s chief executive, Aleksei B. Miller, said in a statement on Sunday announcing the deal, adding that the “wide-ranging work with our Chinese colleague is developing very dynamically.”