Natural gas supplies to China over ‘Western Route’ to be discussed at Sino-Russian intergovernmental commission meeting on November 15-16 - Russian Energy Minister

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. The issue of natural gas supplies to China over the ‘Western Route’ will be discussed at the Sino-Russian intergovernmental commission meeting, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday. "They [negotiations] are held at the corporate level on a going basis. The intergovernmental commission meeting will be held on November 15-16; [Deputy Prime Minister] Arkady Dvorkovich will fly there and this topic will definitely be discussed," the minister said. TASS reported earlier Russian gas giant Gazprom said that negotiations with the Chinese side on gas supplies through the "Western route" (gas pipeline Altai) have very good dynamics. Basic conditions of supplies were specified - in particular the future gas pipeline corridor crossing the border of Russia and China. The parties also discussed the possibility of introducing payment for gas deliveries on both in rubles and yuan for the route. According to the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of natural gas signed on June 24, 2009, by Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Russian gas will go to China in two directions - western and eastern. Russia and China signed the framework agreement on gas supplies to China over the "Western Route" on May 8, 2015. The parties need to prepare and close the contract now. The "Western Route" provides for supply of natural gas to China from West Siberian fields totaling 30 bln cubic meters of gas a year through Altai gas pipeline, with the potential growth to 100 bln cubic meters of gas a year later on. Read more