Russian oil major Rosneft is looking to export natural gas directly to China via the second route of the Power of Siberia pipeline, which is being developed by Gazprom, business daily Kommersant reported on Monday, citing sources close to the matter.
Rosneft is reportedly seeking to export natural gas from its reserves located in the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and in the Irkutsk Region, which contain one trillion cubic meters and 0.5 trillion cubic meters of gas, respectively.
As well as being Russia’s largest oil company, Rosneft is also the country’s third largest natural gas producer after Gazprom and Novatek.
Rosneft’s Chief Executive Igor Sechin submitted a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin in December, asking to include the company as a potential supplier of gas via the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, in addition to the project leader Gazprom, sources familiar with the contents of the document told the media.
The company expects the Kremlin to take into account “the volumes of independent producers to achieve a synergistic effect in the construction of the gas pipeline.”
According to the report, the Russian president instructed Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak to resolve the issue with Rosneft and Gazprom back in December.
The Power of Siberia pipeline, which became operational at the end of 2019 after eight years of construction, is currently being used to send gas to China under a bilateral long-term agreement between the two countries. The mega pipeline, which is expected to be completed and become fully operational by 2025, will provide China with 38 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas annually, starting in 2024.
The Power of Siberia 2, the second route of the pipeline, is expected to come into operation by 2030. It will connect gas fields in western and eastern Russia to deliver gas to China via Mongolia.
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