MOSCOW, Russia, Mar 21 – Russian energy giant Gazprom said Tuesday it had reached a daily record in gas volumes supplied to China through the Power of Siberia pipeline.
The announcement came as Russian President Vladimir Putin hosts Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a second day with the leaders expected to sign agreements including on economic integration.
“On March 20, China’s request for Russian gas supplies via the Power of Siberia pipeline significantly exceeded the existing daily contractual obligations,” the company said in a statement.
“Gazprom delivered the requested volumes and set a new historical record for daily gas supplies to China,” the company said in a statement, ahead of formal talks between Xi and Vladimir Putin.
The company declined to comment to AFP on the volumnes, describing the figures as closed commercial data.
China has emerged a key economic partner for Russia since the West piled more sanctions on Moscow for its military intervention in Ukraine launched last year.
The economic pivot to China has been a boon to Russia as Moscow lost much of its market share in Europe after the Ukraine conflict intensified.
Deliveries via the Power of Siberia pipeline in Russia’s Far East reached an all-time high of 15.5 billion cubic meters in total last year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last month.
And by 2025, Moscow is seeking to more than double exports through the pipeline to 38 billion cubic meters each year, he said.
In an article published by the Kremlin ahead of Xi’s visit, Putin described Power of Siberia as the most important economic partnership of the last 100 years.
