The head of the state company “Gazprom” Alexei Miller, who along with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is visiting China, warned representatives from China about a possible shortage of gas. It is reported TASS on Wednesday, November 1.
According to Miller, gas deficit, the country risks due to the sharp increase in consumption. “China’s economy firmly stands on the “gas track”, we see that in January-September of the current year consumption of natural gas in China grew by 18 percent to 168 billion cubic meters in absolute terms, the increase amounted to 26 billion cubic meters”, — he said.
The head of “Gazprom” also noted the capacity of China’s import of energy: for the first nine months it rose by 22 percent to 67 billion cubic meters, while 55 percent imported accounted for liquefied natural gas (LNG). “The reason is clear — domestic production grows more slowly, and pipeline supply from Central Asia do not meet the current demand. In this cold season China may face a shortage of natural gas,” he warned.
Miller added that Beijing has to rely on Russia, which is always ready to help meet gas queries in the PRC.
Russia and China in 2014 has agreed on the construction of the gas pipeline “Power of Siberia”, and also signed a contract to supply 38 billion “cubes” of gas. The agreement is for 30 years, the cost of the agreement is estimated at $ 400 billion. The first deliveries of blue fuel to China via the new pipeline are expected in 2018.