Page 16 - RusRPTOct22

2.5 Could Mongolia host a China-Russia oil pipeline?
Russia proudly unveiled plans in 2019 to build a second natural gas pipeline to China, this time traversing Mongolia. As the EU drives to sever all energy ties with Russia, Moscow now appears to be pushing for an oil pipeline that would also cut through Mongolia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Chinese and Mongolian counterparts, Xi Jinping and Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on September 15. The three sides are already collaborating on the Power of Siberia 2 project, aimed at pumping some 50bn cubic metres per year of gas from Russian fields that currently serve European customers to China via Mongolia. A supply contract to underpin the pipeline is not yet in place, but Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last week he expected one to be signed shortly.
Now, with the EU preparing to impose an embargo on Russian oil imports within a few months, it appears that discussions are also underway on an oil pipeline through Mongolia.
Mongolia’s Khurelsukh said at the summit that his government supported the construction of not only gas but also oil pipelines through the country’s territory.
16 RUSSIA Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com