BEIJING, November 9 (RIA Novosti) — Russian natural gas supplies to China via the "western route" pipeline could exceed deliveries to Europe in the mid-term perspective, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said Sunday in Beijing.
Miller, who heads Russia's state-run energy giant, told reporters that "taking into account the increase in deliveries via 'western route,' the volume of supplied [natural gas] to China could exceed European exports in the mid-term perspective."
This came after Russian and Chinese energy executives signed on Sunday a package of 17 documents, including a framework deal between Gazprom and China's energy giant CNPC to deliver gas to China via the western route pipeline.
Miller said Gazprom and CNPC were in talks on a memorandum of understanding that would see Russia bring gas to China through the western route pipeline, as well as a framework agreement between the two state-owned companies to carry out the deliveries.
The Gazprom chief added that, under the agreements, Russian natural gas exports to China would reach 30 billion of cubic meters over a span of 30 years.
On Sunday, executives of Russian and Chinese energy companies met in Beijing to discuss the signing of bilateral agreements in the sphere of oil and gas trade. The meeting was held in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
