Russia prepares to launch new gas project: Details
Photo: Russia plans to supply gas from Sakhalin-3 project to China (Getty Images)
Moscow prepares to launch the large-scale Sakhalin-3 gas project, with China set to become its primary market, Reuters reports.
Russia intends to start natural gas production under the Sakhalin-3 project in the Pacific Ocean in 2028. According to Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko, the resources will be supplied both to China and to consumers in the Russian Far East.
Sakhalin-3 includes the Yuzhno-Kirinskoye field, which has been under US sanctions since 2015. The project covers the Kirinsky block in the Sea of Okhotsk, which contains not only gas but also oil deposits.
The sanctions ban US companies from exploration or production in these areas, while producers from other countries also risk secondary US sanctions.
According to Gazprom, reserves at the Yuzhno-Kirinskoye field are estimated at 711.2 billion cubic meters of gas, 111.5 million tons of gas condensate, and 4.1 million tons of oil.
Pipeline to China
One of the pipelines from Russia to China, designed to carry gas along a Far Eastern route from Sakhalin, is expected to enter service in 2027.
At the initial stage, it will be able to export about 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually, with the figure potentially rising to 12 billion cubic meters in the future.
Russian gas supplies to China
As previously reported by RBC-Ukraine, China is the biggest financial backer of Russia’s war against Ukraine, with its purchases of Russian raw materials helping Moscow sustain its war machine.
Recently, Gazprom announced it had signed an agreement to build the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline to China via Mongolia and to expand supplies through other routes.
Gazprom also agreed to increase deliveries to China through the existing Power of Siberia pipeline by another 6 billion cubic meters per year. The pipeline currently has a capacity of 38 billion cubic meters annually.
Gas deliveries to China through Power of Siberia began in 2019. Western and Eastern Siberia are not connected by a single network, and Moscow is counting on the construction of Power of Siberia-2 to redirect gas from Western Siberian fields.
