Russia Renames Power of Siberia 2 Pipeline

The planned Russian Chinese “Power of Siberia 2” gas pipeline project has been renamed “Power of Baikal”. Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilov announced the Russian president’s decision at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

According to him, preparations are in the final stages before construction begins. The minister did not specify whether any other aspects of the project had changed besides the name.

The 2,600km pipeline is designed to transport approximately 50bn cubic meters of gas annually from fields on the Yamal Peninsula through Mongolia to China.

It is intended to supplement the existing Power of Siberia 1 pipeline, which last year transported 38bn cubic meters of natural gas from Russia to the Chinese market.

Implementation of the project had been delayed for years due in part to disagreements over the price of the gas to be supplied. Vladimir Putin claims that the price will be set according to a market formula similar to the one Moscow uses to calculate the cost of exports to Europe.

(internazionale, bak)