POWER OF SIBERIA GAS PIPELINE

Related Topic in KAS Prelims Syllabus:

International Relations [Paper-I]: International Treaties and Forums, their structure and mandate

News

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin remotely inaugurated the “Power of Siberia” gas pipeline.

About the Pipeline

• It is also known as China–Russia East-Route Natural Gas pipeline.
• It is the first cross-border gas pipeline between Russia and China, adding a prominent eastern dimension to Moscow’s energy blueprint.
• It is a massive cross-border undertaking which is central to China’s energy security and for bolstering special ties between Beijing and Moscow.
• The 30-year project is anchored by a $400 billion gas deal.

Key Features

• Under the contract, Russia will deliver 1 trillion cubic meters of natural gas to China over the next 30 years.
• Next year, Moscow will supply around 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, but the volume will gradually rise to 38 billion cubic meters per year.
• From Siberia to China’s Yangtze River delta in Shanghai, the massive pipeline will cover 8,000 km, with 5,111 km inside China, passing through nine provinces and municipalities.
• Gas is being sourced from Chayandinskoye and Kovytka fields in eastern Siberia, and is then piped to Blagoveshchensk — the last town on the Russian side of the border. From there, it is tunneled under the Amur River, before entering Heihe on the Chinese side.
• The new pipeline is an emblem of closer energy integration in Eurasia, with Russia and China as the key partners.