MOSCOW: Russia's Gazprom plans to build a gas pipeline to China using its own financial resources, Deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov told the state-controlled company's annual general meeting on Friday.
President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that Russia should consider recapitalising Gazprom, following the $400-billion deal with China that will require multi-billion-dollar investments in pipelines and new fields.
"The plans are for construction of the 'Power of Siberia' pipeline to be financed from Gazprom's funds," Markelov said. Russia plans to invest $55 billion in exploration and pipeline construction to China's border, and China's CNPC said it would build the Chinese section of the pipeline.
A Gazprom executive said China would provide a $25 billion pre-payment.
Russia will begin deliveries from 2018, building them up gradually to 38 billion cubic metres (bcm) a year.
Gazprom has a monopoly rights to export gas out of Russia via pipelines, but not in a form of a super-cooled gas, or LNG. Those rights have been opened since last year to private gas producer Novatek and state oil firm Rosneft.
Rosneft is interested in shipping gas via the planned pipeline to China, the company's chief executive, Igor Sechin, said last month. Gazprom strongly opposes the move.
Gennady Timchenko, a Novatek shareholder, said in May that he believed Gazprom's monopoly on the European market would be broken someday, allowing for gas exports by "a Russian company" - referring to Novatek.
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