Russian Gas Supplies to China Could Come from Independent Producers

Russian gas supplies to Asia Pacific could rise to 130 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2035 from current 14 bcm, country’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said at the Krasnoyarsk economic forum, TASS reported Friday.

The minister also said that Russia’s gas supplies to China could come from independent producers, including gas produced at oil and condensate deposits.

"It is possible to create conditions for monetizing this gas and admitting independent producers to the gas pipeline. This will yield its effect for boosting gas supplies [to China], aside from Chayanda and Kovykta [gas deposits]," TASS quoted the minister as saying.

Russia and China signed a deal last May under which Moscow will supply 38 bcm of gas per year via the eastern route over a period of 30 years. Later in November the two countries signed a second deal under which Russia will supply gas via the western route. The western route will connect fields in western Siberia with northwest China through the Altai Republic.