RIA Novosti reported that Russian gas monopoly Gazprom is restarting gas supply talks with China as a high level Chinese delegation led by Prime Minister Mr Wen Jiabao arrives in Russia to discuss bilateral economic cooperation.
Talks over what would be a massive energy deal between Russia and energy hungry China have been going on since the two sides signed a framework agreement in 2009.Under the deal,Gazprom would deliver up to 68 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually for 30 years but the price of the gas supplied has been a major stumbling block preventing both sides from signing a final agreement.
China wants to pay USD 250 per 1,000 cubic meters while Moscow does not want the price to be lower than that it set for its European customers.Ukraine for instance will have to pay about USD 432 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas in the Q4 of this year.China is reluctant to pay more than it does for gas from Central Asia.
China has been importing cheap Turkmen gas since 2009 when Turkmenistan which has the world's fourth largest gas reserves,opened the gas pipeline linking it with China's northwestern Xinjiang province.The Central Asian pipeline network spans around 2,000 kilometers from Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan before reaching China.
In late 2011,China signed a further deal with Turkmenistan under which the Central Asian republic may sell an additional 20 billion cubic meters a year of gas or 50%more compared with the 40 billion cubic meter volume it plans to supply by 2015.
