China is about to completely replace the EU in importing Russian gas.

Russian gas exports to China will soon equal pre-sanctions levels to the EU, according to Gazprom CEO.

The forecast was recently made by Aleksey Miller, CEO of Gazprom. However, he did not give a specific time. According to the head of the Russian state oil and gas corporation, only exports to China can replace the gas output no longer sold to the EU.

Russia became China's largest gas supplier in January, according to Chinese customs data. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said supplies via the Power of Siberia pipeline had increased by 50% this year to 15.5 billion cubic meters. He forecast that pipeline gas sales to China are expected to increase by 43% to 22 billion cubic meters by 2023.

The Power of Siberia pipeline under construction. Photo: Gazprom — The "Power of Siberia" pipeline under construction. Photo: *Gazprom*

In June, Moscow announced plans to increase gas exports to the Asian market to 170 billion cubic meters in seven years, following the implementation of major infrastructure projects. Russia plans to build the "Power of Siberia 2" pipeline through Mongolia to China.

The project will transport gas from Russia’s Yamal Peninsula, which used to supply the EU via several pipelines including Nord Stream before being discontinued in September 2022. This week, during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed hope that construction of the new gas pipeline would soon make “substantial progress.”

Russia aims to pump 50 billion cubic meters of gas to China via the "Power of Siberia 2", in addition to increasing supplies to the existing pipeline to 38 billion cubic meters per year by 2025. Thus, by that time, the total output could reach 88 billion cubic meters per year via the two pipelines.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the EU bought 155 billion cubic meters of Russian gas in 2021, accounting for 45% of the bloc's total gas imports and about 40% of its consumption. Data from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) shows that Russian pipeline gas supplies to the EU nearly halved in 2022, to about 80 billion cubic meters.

Vnesheconombank (VEB) forecasts that Russia's pipeline gas exports to the EU could fall to 21 billion cubic meters this year, nearly two-thirds lower than last year and more than six times lower than in 2021. By 2026, output is expected to fall to 15 billion cubic meters.

Phien An ( according to RT, Reuters )

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