Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to Kommersant FM on the prospects for the Power of Siberia 2 project negotiations between Russia and China.
The Power of Siberia-2 project is risky in itself, Alexey Belogoryev believes. According to him, Gazprom will be able to increase supplies, but it is unlikely to earn as much on them as on the European route:
"This is pure monopsony, that is, dependence on one buyer, and a complex one at that. Such dependence in the future may lead to the fact that long-term contractual terms will change arbitrarily. Moreover, we are talking about the construction of a very expensive and capital-intensive infrastructure. For Gazprom, this is a project that can actually partially make up for the losses that were in Europe, but not in terms of cost losses.
The main problem is the cost of this gas will be significantly cheaper than the one that we supplied to Europe on average. It's hard to say how justified this is in the long run.
Gazprom, as a company, has an obvious interest in popularizing such a project. How much Russia needs it as a state is a complex issue and largely depends on price conditions."

Subscribe for updates
and be the first to know about new publications