"A memorandum of understanding between Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the project of natural gas supplies from Russia to China through a pipeline from Russia's Far East," Ushakov told reporters, answering a question on whether Gazprom was planning to sign any contracts during Putin's China visit.
In 2014, Gazprom signed a 30-year framework agreement with the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for annual deliveries of 38 billion cubic meters of Russian gas through the eastern route pipeline, formally known as the Power of Siberia.
The route is set to connect Russia's fields in eastern Siberia with China’s northeast through the city of Blagoveshchensk in the Russian Far East.
Russia started building its branch of the 2,500-mile Power of Siberia pipeline last year. It estimates that the line’s gas-transmission system (GTS) will come on-stream in late 2017. The total cost of gas production and transmission facilities in Russia is estimated to amount to some $55 billion.
