Russia to increase LNG exports to China from Arctic and Sakhalin: energy minister
Russia plans to increase LNG exports to China from the Arctic LNG 2 and Sakhalin 2 projects, and “serious joint progress” is underway, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev told the Expert magazine.
Despite Western sanctions, Arctic LNG 2, which is 60% owned by Russia’s Novatek, has been sending out LNG since last year, with cargoes being delivered to two storage facilities in Russia and the Beihai LNG terminal.
Russia “plans to increase supplies of not only pipeline gas but also liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China, particularly from the Arctic LNG 2 and Sakhalin 2 projects,” Tsivilev was quoted as saying by Expert.
“We are making significant joint progress here. Therefore, the prospects for energy cooperation between Russia, India, and China are very good.”
Asked about the pricing of gas through the proposed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, Tsivilev said that was a question for Gazprom and CNPC, though he added that a great deal of work had been done on settlements in national currencies.
Tsivilev said that U.S. tariffs imposed on India in an attempt to force it to stop buying Russian oil had failed. He said that Russia was participating in the construction of India’s largest nuclear power plant, Kudankulam.
Russia, Tsivilev said, was planning the construction of what amounted to a new Russian domestic electrical power system.
He said the aim was to commission 88 gigawatts of various generation capacity, including 35 gigawatts of thermal power, by 2042.
On Russian oil production, he said that to achieve Russia’s aim of raising oil production to 540 million tons per year by 2030, the country would need to develop “hard-to-recover” reserves.
“Therefore, fine-tuning the tax regime is clearly necessary,” he said, adding that the ministry was working to “incentivise the development of certain categories of reserves.”
Related stories from around the North:
Arctic: China’s Arctic involvement ‘highly exaggerated,’ Harvard researchers say, The Canadian Press
Canada: Lithium company exploring N.W.T. hopes to refine material in Canada, not China, CBC News
Finland: Finland hails plan for allies to join NATO land forces in North, The Independent Barents Observer
Iceland: Iceland’s FM announces defence review, calls revamped security policy ‘urgent’, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: China asked to remove stone lions from Arctic research station in Svalbard, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Murky pipeline deal to send Russian gas to China shows Beijing’s dominance, Reuters
Sweden: Nordic-Baltic region joins forces around Sweden’s CV90, The Independent Barents Observer
United States: U.S. regulator eyes Arctic shipping chokehold as key deadline approaches, Eye on the Arctic
