BEIJING, October 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia could start natural gas supplies to China in 2014-2015, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said on Tuesday.
"The commencement of deliveries is tentatively planned for 2014-2015," he said.
Russia and China signed on Tuesday a framework agreement on natural gas supplies from West Siberia, the Russian Far East, and offshore Sakhalin fields to China.
The agreement was signed between Russian energy giant Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation in the presence of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao.
Sechin said that Russia would hold negotiations with China in early 2010 on the terms of deliveries, including the price of natural gas.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that the framework deal envisages the options of western and eastern routes for supplies from Russia, and that 70 billion cubic meters of gas could be supplied to China annually.
Under the western option, an annual supply of 30 billion cubic meters would be sent from West Siberia, while under the eastern route, gas would be pumped from East Siberia, the Russian Far East and offshore Sakhalin deposits, to an annual total of 38 billion cubic meters.
"The western option can be implemented within a very short time period because Gazprom currently has a large resource base, prepared reserves and a developed infrastructure in West Siberia," Miller said.
The CEO also said that next year the parties could sign a contract on deliveries of liquefied natural gas to China.
Alexander Pasechnik, head of the analysis department at the National Energy Security Foundation, said that there were few benefits for Russia from the new gas deal with China as gas would be supplied to Russia's eastern neighbor at prices much lower than the prices paid by European consumers.
However, the deal could allow cash-strapped Gazprom, which has already cut its 2009 investment program by 17%, to sign new loan agreements with China against guaranteed gas supplies. The funds to be provided by China, which has accumulated huge gold and foreign exchange reserves and easily weathered the global economic crisis, will enable Gazprom to invest in developing new deposits, the analyst said.
