Russia wants to send 35 billion cubic metres of gas to China via pipeline through Kazakhstan

Russia plans to send approximately 35 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year to China via Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Russia, Dauren Abayev, told the TASS news agency. That is roughly equivalent to the capacity of the Power of Siberia pipeline, which currently carries Russian gas to China. Its capacity is expected to reach 38 billion cubic metres by 2025.

Kazakhstan and Russia agreed last year on the route of a future pipeline intended to support supplies between the two countries and to China. However, no discussion has yet taken place about the volumes to be transported.

„We want to make maximum use of our transit potential,“ Abayev said.

„We are talking about 35 billion cubic metres of gas (annually) to be delivered to China,“ he added, noting that discussions were under way on gas prices.

The pipeline through Kazakhstan would help Russia, which is affected by Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, increase sales to Asia. It would also secure supplies for Kazakhstan’s central, northern and eastern regions. However, an agreement with China has yet to be reached.

Moscow has been negotiating gas exports with Beijing for several years, including through the Power of Siberia 2 project, which is planned to run through Mongolia. Experts say, however, that China will need additional natural gas only after 2030.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to visit China later this month, and energy issues are expected to be discussed. China is one of the largest buyers of Russian oil.

Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe fell by almost half last year because of sanctions. Europe was once the main market for Russian oil and gas. Russian gas giant Gazprom posted a loss of USD 7 billion last year, its first annual loss since the late 1990s, Reuters reported.

According to Reuters calculations, Gazprom’s natural gas supplies to Europe fell by 55.6 percent to 28.3 billion cubic metres in 2023. Gazprom has not published its own export statistics since the beginning of 2023.

Russian gas supplies to Europe peaked in 2018 and 2019, when they amounted to around 175 to 180 billion cubic metres a year. In 2022, however, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, they fell to 63.8 billion cubic metres.