Novak hopes Gazprom and CNPC reach Power of Baikal terms by year-end

Gazprom and China’s CNPC could reach commercial agreements on the Power of Baikal gas pipeline by the end of the year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. The companies are continuing negotiations on the Russia-to-China project.

Novak said the issue was discussed during Mikhail Mishustin’s meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. The planned route would have capacity of about 50 billion cubic metres a year. He compared that with Power of Siberia’s capacity of 38 billion cubic metres.

In 2025, Gazprom signed a legally binding memorandum with its Chinese partners on building the pipeline. The project includes transit through Mongolia via the Soyuz Vostok pipeline.

The project, previously called Power of Siberia 2, has been renamed Power of Baikal. Novak linked the change to the route passing along Lake Baikal’s southern shore.