Russia Lifts Lockdown at China-Supplying Gas Field
A quarantine has been lifted at the Gazprom-operated Chayandinskoye field in east Siberia, which supplies gas to China, local authorities said on June 2. The lockdown was put in place on April 17 to contain the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).
More than 10,000 workers were reported to be stationed at the field in the Yakutia region last month, with Russia's health ministry reporting on May 3 that 3,000 had tested positive for the virus. A key contractor at the field, Stroytransneftegaz, told local media it halted work at the site on May 6, because of the outbreak.
Chayandinskoye has been pumping gas to China via the Power of Siberia since the pipeline's launch in December. Work is underway to bring its production capacity to a plateau rate of 25bn m3/yr by 2022-2023. Gazprom has insisted this work is continuing on schedule.
In related news, an investigation published by Russian news agency Lenta-ru on May 28 claims that Gazprom could struggle to meet its commitments under a supply deal with CNPC, after overestimating the production capacity of Chayandinskoye and another field due to pump gas to China, Kovyktinskoye. The shortfalls could cost the firm rubles 1.5 trillion ($21bn), the agency says. Gazprom had not commented on the accuracy of this at press time.
Under a supply agreement in 2014, Gazprom has pledged to deliver 38bn m3/yr of gas to China's CNPC over a 30-year period. The deal was estimated at the time to be worth $400bn.