Gazprom Close to Supply Gas Contract with CNPC

Russia's Gazprom said that it would soon come up with a pipeline gas supply contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), reads a note released on Wednesday about a meeting between the Russian giant and the largest integrated energy company in China.

“At this round of talks we approved all the project-related technical matters. We advanced in our talks on the gas price. The parties agreed that the contract would come into force before the end of 2014 and that the next round of talks would take place in Moscow in late April,” said Alexey Miller, summarizing the results.

In September 2013 Gazprom and CNPC inked the Agreement on the major terms and conditions of pipeline gas supply from Russia to China via the eastern route. 

Russia is looking for alternatives to cut its reliance on Europe, while Brussels and Berlin are equally paying attention to other options like LNG from North America. For instance, Italy’s ENEL recently announced a deal with Cheniere Energy.

According to a note released by Ukrtransgaz on Wednesday, Ukraine imported 1.9 billion cubic metres of natural gas, registering a 15% year-on-year decrease.