Page 135 - RusRPTJan23

Italy has cut the share of Russian gas in its imports to 10% from 40%, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on December 8.
Russian gas supplies to China soared by 173% in the first ten months of 2022 y/y, according to Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui. "Gas deliveries from Russia to China increased by 173% in the first ten months of this year compared with the same period last year," he told a forum on Thursday. "Amid the current situation a new Russian-Chinese cooperation horizon is being demonstrated. We are ready to strengthen Sino-Russian gas cooperation on the basis on mutual benefit for facilitating the stable development of the global energy market and solving the problem of climate changes," the diplomat added.
China may soon surpass the entire European Union in terms of gas consumption if the decline in demand in Europe continues, deputy department head at Gazprom Kirill Polous said on December 15. "China's gas demand has grown at an astonishing rate of more than 13% per year since the turn of the century. During this time, China's gas consumption increased by over 350bcm. If European gas demand continues to diminish, it is extremely likely that in the near future, China's yearly gas consumption will exceed that of the EU," he said, adding that by the end of 2022, China's gas consumption is projected at 375bcm. By 2040, gas consumption in China may increase to 700bcm, China's import potential will more than double up to 330bcm, he added.
China is ready to raise gas partnership with Russia, including in the sphere of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Ambassador Zhang Hanhui said at a forum on December 16. "In the current situation, new prospects for
135 RUSSIA Country Report January 2023 www.intellinews.com