MOSCOW, September 3. /TASS/. Russia and China unveil the world’s largest gas project; plans for the use of nuclear weapons are expected to be worked out in two drills in Belarus; and Donald Trump deploys warships to Venezuela in a bid to pressure Caracas into concessions. These stories topped Wednesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Russia and China have given the approval to the project for the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline and the Soyuz-Vostok transit pipeline via Mongolia. Russia’s Gazprom gas giant and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have signed a memorandum on strategic cooperation: gas supplies of 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year will run for 30 years, while total annual supplies will rise to 106 billion cubic meters. According to Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller, this is going to be the world’s largest gas industry project, Izvestia notes.
"After gas deliveries via the Power of Siberia pipeline successfully reached full contract volumes, China showed an interest in securing additional amounts of gas. And now, it has been put on paper," said Alexey Grivach, deputy director of the National Energy Security Fund.
According to Tamara Safonova, director general of the Independent Oil and Gas Analytical Agency, in the long term, the projected increase in gas exports to China will turn Russia into the key reliable energy supplier for the expanding Chinese economy. "The development of pipeline projects will make it possible for Beijing to ensure its energy security and reduce the import of liquefied natural gas, primarily from the US and Australia, as well as to achieve economic growth by reducing costs and securing stable supplies," the expert elaborated.
