TOMSK, Russia, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Russian energy company Gazprom is conducting the route preparations needed to send gas through the Power of Siberia pipeline to China, its top executive said.
Gazprom officials meet in the Siberian city of Tomsk to discuss efforts to build a pipeline to China. The company said the pipeline's route is clear, line preparation is under way and surveys have been conducted for underwater sections.
Gazprom estimates the project will require more than 120 thousand tons of large-diameter pipe. Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller said project preparations are in full swing.
"All of Gazprom's obligations to start gas supplies to China will be performed in full and in due time," he said during Thursday's meeting.
Gazprom has a 30-year sales agreement with China National Petroleum Corp. that calls for 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year through the pipeline.
With a European economy looking to break the Russian grip on the region's energy sector, the Kremlin has shifted focus on building successful trade relations with Asia-Pacific economies.
Russian envoy to the Far East Yuri Trutnev said last week the government was setting the stage for further regional economic development for 2015.
Russia's economy is hobbled by dual strains of economic sanctions related to crises in Ukraine and the low price of oil. The International Monetary Fund said Russia's economy is among the hardest hit by the weak crude oil market.
Gazprom received a AAA rating, the highest possible, from the Dagong Global rating agency in China, opening the Russian company up for trade on the Hong Kong stock index. The ratings agency said most of the key factors underpinning the Russian company's outlook were among the best in the industry.
