CHINA--RUSSIA: NEW OIL PIPELINE OPENED ON DECEMBER 2
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Xinhua reported (December 2) that the 8,000 km Power of Siberia gas pipeline linking Russia and China began operation. Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin both joined the launching ceremony by videoconference with Xi Jinping saying “The pipeline…is a model for the two sides' deep integration and win-win cooperation.” Xinhua said “The pipeline is scheduled to provide China with 5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas in 2020 and the amount is expected to increase to 38 billion cubic meters annually from 2024, under a 30-year contract worth 400 billion U.S. dollars signed between the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Russian gas giant Gazprom in May 2014.” The Wall Street Journal separately added “Russia, which has the world’s largest proven gas reserves, needs cash as its economy buckles under Western sanctions. China, with the world’s second largest economy after the U.S., needs fuel and wants to wean itself off coal.”
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