Energy supernetwork: Putin approves Russia’s new gas pipeline megaproject to China via Mongolia

Russian President Vladimir Putin backs Mongolia’s offer to build a transit gas pipeline to China through its territory, Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga announced at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

According to the Mongolian leader, Chinese President Xi Jinping has also promised to study the project.

“Last year, I proposed creating a mechanism for coordinating activities to create an energy supernetwork in Northeast Asia. Over the past year, the Mongolian side completed the study of this issue and carried out a series of activities within our region,” Battulga said.

In 2018, the three countries agreed to establish a “China-Russia-Mongolia economic corridor.”

Battulga explained that “With the implementation of the program to create an economic corridor, we can take regional cooperation to a new level and give impetus to business development.”

Mongolia has been offering its territory for transit of Russian gas to China for a number of years, pointing to security and length of the way. China’s largest energy supplier, Russia, is currently delivering gas directly from Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, and Altai.

Russia and China have almost completed construction of one of the world’s longest gas pipelines, the 3,000-kilometer-long Power of Siberia, to deliver 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

Russian gas producer Novatek is also working (in cooperation with China's CNPC) on the implementation of the Russian-led $27-billion Yamal LNG energy project.

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