The Chinese oil and gas infrastructure company PipeChina has completed the construction of a critical section of the 38 bcm/year Power of Siberia gas pipeline (eastern route) linking Russia and China, namely a 10.2 km underwater crossing of the Yangtze River, which is a key area of control for the gas pipeline. This achievement will allow the Russian gas cross the Yangtze River and reach Shanghai, laying the foundation for the full completion of the project, expected in 2025. This underwater section of the pipeline took 28 months to complete.
The total length of the gas pipeline is above 8,000 km, including a 3,000 km section in Russia. The Power of Siberia pipeline is designed with 3 parallel gas pipelines with a diameter of 1,422 mm each. The northern section from Heihe in the Heilongjiang Province (North-east China) to Changling in the Jilin Province (North-east China) was commissioned in 2019, while the middle section, from Changlin to Yongqing in the northern Chinese province of Hebei, began operating in 2020. In addition to the eastern route, two additional routes (western and far eastern) are planned for the Power of Siberia project. Together, the three routes are expected to boost the Russian gas supply capacity to China to 142 bcm/year.
Russia is currently aiming to reroute its energy flows from Europe, where sanctions against Moscow have been taken due to the situation in Ukraine, to Asia, and particularly to China. Russia exported around 16.5 bcm of natural gas to China in 2021. The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the Russian gas group Gazprom signed a US$400bn, 30-year contract in May 2014 for the supply of 38 bcm/year of Russian gas to China starting in 2024.