China may be interested in an alternative to Power of Siberia - 2

Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented on the prospects for Russian pipeline gas transit through Kazakhstan to RIA Novosti and the Prime news agency.

Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said on Monday that the country is ready to provide its territory for the transit of Russian gas to China, expecting up to 10 billion cubic meters per year at an agreed price to its domestic market. Prior to that, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported that Russia and China are considering a new gas supply route through Kazakhstan with a capacity of 35 billion cubic meters per year.

"The Russian Ministry of Energy positions the project of creating a new transit corridor as complementary to the Power of Siberia 2, and not its competitor. But for China, it may be interesting precisely as an alternative to the too large Power of Siberia 2. Ultimately, the issue rests precisely on guarantees of long-term demand from China. If they appear, it will most likely be possible to provide financing for the project," Belogoryev said.

The expert pointed out that Kazakhstan has been an important transit artery for diversifying pipeline gas export routes since 2022. Russia is interested in the market of Kazakhstan itself, given the large-scale plans for gasification of the northern and eastern regions, where it is more expedient to pull gas from Western Siberia, rather than from the Caspian Sea. But the greatest interest is the possibility of Russian gas supplies to China.

According to Belogoryev, there are several options for such deliveries through the territory of Kazakhstan. One of them is the laying of a new transit gas pipeline to China. The benefit for Kazakhstan is that it will simultaneously be able to resolve the issue of gasification in the east of the country. The gas transportation system will still have to be built there, but this way it can be linked to the export pipeline.