Expert Belova: The aggravation of the situation with Taiwan will accelerate negotiations on “The Power of Siberia 2”

MOSCOW, April 2 – RIA Novosti. Russian pipeline gas over Power of Siberia 2 looks more attractive to China than liquefied natural gas from potentially hostile countries, worsening the situation around Taiwan could be an incentive for the expedited completion of project negotiations, Vygon research director said. He told RIA Novosti in a comment. Consulting” Maria Belova.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that during prolonged talks between the Russian and Chinese delegations on March 21, Russia and China agreed on “almost all the parameters of an agreement” on the Power of Siberia 2 project. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak later noted that the companies were instructed to prepare the details of the project to “agree on terms”, while Russia hopes Gazprom and the Chinese CNPC will sign a contract by the end of 2023.

The companies set the technical and commercial parameters of deliveries on the “west” route in 2015. Then Gazprom and CNPC signed a corresponding agreement. The gas giant started the preliminary investment work on the project in 2020, but an agreement has not been reached yet. It is estimated that the route of the highway will pass through the territory of Mongolia.

According to the agency’s interlocutor, China has a very balanced approach to the development of the gas market: it is trying to meet at least half of the demand with its own production by increasing the consumption of “blue fuel”. According to Belova, local producers receive certain benefits and incentives at the last party congress on energy resources, the commitment to self-sufficiency policy was confirmed.

“At the same time, from a security standpoint, pipeline gas supply from potentially unfriendly countries looks more attractive than LNG. And then, since the gas from the Power of Siberia project is already on China’s current and future balance sheet, the analyst said that the Power of Siberia that could provide that security.” of Siberia 2,” he said. “China’s incentive for the accelerated successful completion of negotiations (“The Power of Siberia” – ed.) could further aggravate the situation around Taiwan, he adds.

The first pipeline deliveries of Russian gas to China through the Power of Siberia pipeline began at the end of 2019 and reached 4.1 billion cubic meters in 2020, increasing to 10.4 billion cubic meters the following year and 15 in 2022. 4 billion cubic meters. As the project progresses, it is planned to increase the supply volume annually until it reaches a design capacity of 38 billion cubic meters per year by 2025.