MOSCOW, June 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s energy giant Gazprom plans to launch the construction of the Power of Siberia pipeline in August for gas deliveries to China, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
"We have a precise plan of action. All of the responsibilities have been distributed and strict timeframes have been set. Our goal is to make the first weld of the Power of Siberia [pipeline] in August," the statement quoted Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller as saying.
The Power of Siberia is a gas transmission system aimed at delivering gas from the Irkutsk and Yakutia gas production centers to Russia’s Far East and China.
Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed a 30-year contract in late May for the sale of Russian gas to China at a volume of 38 billion cubic meters per year with delivery along the eastern route. The deal is estimated to be worth $400 billion. Russia is planning to invest $55 billion and China around $22 billion in the gas deal.
The gas deal requires the two partners to run additional investment projects to develop the Chayandinskoye and Kovyktinskoye gas fields, build the Power of Siberia gas pipeline in eastern Siberia and an LNG plant in Amur Region.
