“Regarding the Chinese contract, no postponements are envisaged, and the contract’s safety margin is sufficient to work calmly and confidently,” Medvedev said.
In May 2014, Russia's Gazprom and China’s CNPC signed a landmark 30-year gas supply contract. Russia is set to deliver 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually through the Power of Siberia pipeline, also known as the “eastern route”, starting 2018.
A memorandum of understanding on a second gas deal, envisioning deliveries of 30 billion cubic meters of gas to China through the proposed Altai gas pipeline, or the “western route”, was signed in November.
Plummeting energy prices have led a number of analysts and media outlets to question if the current situation, which has strongly affected Russia’s oil-dependent economy, could put a damper on the countries’ energy cooperation.
Gazprom’s deputy chair dismissed the speculations, stating that the Russian-Chinese contract outlines “different pricing scenarios”, and recalling that energy prices were even lower back in 2008-2009, with crude oil trading at $30 per barrel.
