Russia and China Sign Agreement for ‘Power of Siberia 2’ Gas Pipeline

Russia’s Gazprom and China’s China National Petroleum Corporation have signed a legally binding agreement for the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 (PoS 2) gas pipeline.

• Russia and China have signed a legally binding agreement for the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 (PoS 2) gas pipeline. The project is being led by Gazprom from the Russian side and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) from the Chinese side.
• This pipeline, which will transport gas reserves from Western Siberia through Eastern Mongolia to Northern China, will enable the supply of 50 billion cubic meters (BCM) of gas annually.
• Under the new Power of Siberia 2 agreement, supplies will last for 30 years. The aim of this agreement is to increase supplies through the existing Power of Siberia pipeline from Eastern Siberia to China from 38 billion cubic meters (BCM) per year to 44 billion cubic meters (BCM).
• Since Moscow’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Russia’s gas exports to Europe have come to a standstill. Western countries have imposed punitive economic sanctions on the Kremlin and reduced their dependence on Russian energy, shutting off a major source of revenue for Putin’s war machine.
• These measures have further intensified Moscow’s long-standing efforts to build the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline. As a result, Russia is trying to turn to Beijing to replace Europe as its major gas customer.

Power of Siberia

• In Eastern Siberia, it is a Gazprom-operated pipeline that delivers natural gas from Yakutia to Primorsky Krai and China. It is part of the Eastern Gas Route from Siberia to China. The proposed Western Gas Route to China is known as Power of Siberia 2 (Altai Gas Pipeline).
• In 2007, Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Energy approved the Eastern Gas Program, which included the construction of the Yakutia–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok pipeline.
• On 29 October 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller to start construction of the pipeline. At the end of 2012, the official name of the Yakutia–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok pipeline project was changed to “Power of Siberia.”
• On 21 May 2014, Russia and China signed a 30-year, 400-billion-dollar gas agreement, which was necessary to make the project viable.