Photo: e-cis.info
Talks on building a gas pipeline from Russia to China through Kazakhstan are still ongoing, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar told TASS on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).
“We have been working on this issue for a long time, and yes, it is being discussed. This is a complex project, which depends not only on Kazakhstan and Russia, but work on it continues. We all hope for successful negotiations on a number of issues,” Sklyar said.
Earlier, Kazakh journalist Oleg Chervinsky suggested that the project might be abandoned, after Russia’s Gazprom and China’s CNPC signed a binding memorandum on the construction of the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline and the transit pipeline Soyuz Vostok through Mongolia. Under that agreement, Russian gas will be supplied to China for 30 years at a volume of 50 billion cubic meters annually.
The idea of building a pipeline from Russia to China through Kazakhstan was first raised last year. At that time, negotiations on Power of Siberia-2 had already been ongoing for several years, but the parties had failed to agree on gas pricing and supply volumes. Speaking last fall at the Sprouts: Russia and China—Mutually Beneficial Cooperation forum, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the project was at an early stage of development. Reports suggested that its capacity could reach up to 35 billion cubic meters per year.
The project was also seen as a way to supply gas to northeastern regions of Kazakhstan.
