Kazakhstan asks Russia to join plans to boost gas exports to China

AKIPRESS.COM - Kazakhstan has told Russia it wants to join plans to boost gas exports to China, proposing that a new pipeline being drawn up by Moscow is connected to the Central Asia nation, Reuters reported as Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin saying.
Russia expects to start up its first gas pipeline to China, known as Power of Siberia, on Dec 2. The pipeline aims to transport 38 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year when it reaches its full capacity.
Russian gas producer Gazprom is considering two more projects to boost gas exports.
One project involves extending into China a pipeline that now runs from the offshore Sakhalin region to Vladivostok, the eastern Russian city that lies close to the Chinese border.
Another project involves building a pipeline, dubbed Power of Siberia-2, to deliver gas to China from Western Siberia.
Mamin said Kazakhstan, an oil and gas producer, had informed Russia it wanted the route of the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline to run through Kazakhstan. He said Moscow had yet to respond to the proposal.