Russia Reorienting Gas Exports to New Markets With Emphasis on Asia-Pacific

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia will continue to reorient its gas exports to new markets with an emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region and increase supplies through the Power of Siberia pipeline, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday.

"The reorientation of Russian gas exports to new markets continues, with an emphasis on strengthening cooperation with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. We are rapidly increasing gas exports to China via the Power of Siberia, the project of the Far Eastern route with a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year is being implemented, and the project of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline through Mongolia with a capacity of 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year is being worked out," Novak wrote in an article for the Energy Policy magazine.

Pipeline gas exports from Russia are projected to grow by 11% to 108 billion cubic meters in 2024, primarily thanks to increased gas supplies through the Power of Siberia pipeline, while exports of liquefied natural gas are expected to surge by 14% to 38 million tonnes, the article written by Novak said.

In 2023, Russian energy giant Gazprom supplied 22.7 billion cubic meters of gas to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline — the main gas pipeline between the two countries, — which is 700 million cubic meters over the company's contractual commitments and 1.5 times more than in 2022. In 2024, the Power of Siberia supplies may increase to as much as 30 billion cubic meters, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov told Sputnik in September 2023.

Russia and China are currently also negotiating the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which would be capable of delivering 50 billion cubic meters per year to China through Mongolia.