Page 8 - AsianOil Week 35 2022

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Russia targets end-of-year launch for

second field to flow gas to China

PIPELINES & RUSSIA’S Gazprom is targeting first gas from the high-priced LNG, its pipeline gas is more com-
TRANSPORT Kovyktinskoye field in Eastern Siberia by the end petitive and so supplies continue to rise.
of the year – a project that will help bolster gas Gazprom is in talks with China’s CNPC to
Kovyktinskoye, like sales to China as supplies to its main market of expand the plateau supply level via Power of
Chayandinskoye, has Europe are set to decline, company CEO Alexei Siberia to 42 bcm per year. Both Chayandin-
a peak capacity of 25 Miller said in a speech on August 31. skoye and Kovyktinskoye have projected peak
bcm per year. Gazprom began piping gas to China at the capacities of 25 bcm per year, but the former will
end of 2019, following the launch of the 38 bcm reach its peak sooner than the latter.
per year Power of Siberia pipeline. Currently The two sides have also reached an agreement
only one field, Chayandinskoye, is linked to the to deliver 10 bcm per year of gas from fields off
pipeline. But construction of a pipeline linking the coast of Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far
Chayandinskoye and Kovyktinskoye is undergo- East. But international sanctions may create
ing completion, Miller said. obstacles to the development of these fields.
The CEO also noted that supplies to China Longer term, Russia is looking to build a 50
via Power of Siberia had risen 60% year on bcm per year pipeline all the way from the Yamal
year in the first eight months of 2022, without Peninsula to China via Mongolia. The Power of
divulging volumes. Chinese gas demand growth Siberia 2 project, as it is known, would enable
is seeing a slowdown, as a result of coronavirus Russia to reroute gas to China from fields that
restrictions earlier this year and the soaring cost currently serve the European market. The EU is
of global LNG, which has led China to expand striving to eliminate Russian gas imports poten-
coal-fired power generation once more. tially as soon as 2024, and Gazprom has already
But while LNG imports into China are on cut supplies to the market considerably to put
track to see their biggest ever decline this year, pressure on European leaders to make conces-
Gazprom’s announcement suggests that against sions in the standoff over the war in Ukraine. ™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 35 05•September•2022