Currently, the Power of Siberia gas trunkline (eastern route) supplies gas from the Chayandinskoye field – the basis for the Yakutia gas production center – to domestic consumers in Russia’s Far East and to China. In late 2022, Power of Siberia will start to receive gas from one more field – Kovyktinskoye, which serves as the basis for the Irkutsk gas production center.
Developing gas resources and shaping gas transmission system in eastern Russia
Length: around 3,000 kilometers.
Diameter: 1,420 millimeters.
Working pressure: 9.8 MPa.
Export capacity: 38 billion cubic meters per year.
The gas pipeline traverses three Russian constituent entities, namely the Irkutsk and Amur Regions and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
In May 2014, Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed the Sales and Purchase Agreement for gas to be supplied via the eastern route (Power of Siberia gas pipeline). The 30-year Agreement provides for Russian gas deliveries to China in the amount of 38 billion cubic meters per year.
In September 2014, Gazprom commenced the construction of Power of Siberia’s first section running some 2,200 kilometers from the Chayandinskoye field (Yakutia) to Blagoveshchensk (Chinese border). The second phase of the project will include the construction of a section stretching for about 800 kilometers from the Kovyktinskoye field (Irkutsk Region) to the Chayandinskoye field. It is planned to bring Kovyktinskoye onstream in late 2022. The third stage provides for expanding gas transmission capacities between the Chayandinskoye field and Blagoveshchensk.
In September 2016, Gazprom and CNPC signed the EPC contract to construct a crossing under the Amur River within the cross-border section of the Power of Siberia pipeline. Construction in the Chinese territory started in April 2017. In May 2017, a temporary two-way checkpoint was opened on the Russian-Chinese border to provide unfettered access to the border area for construction equipment and personnel.
On December 2, 2019, Power of Siberia was brought into operation and the first-ever pipeline supplies of Russian gas to China were launched.
All the pipes used in the construction of Power of Siberia are produced in Russia.
The pipeline route passes through swampy, mountainous, seismically active, permafrost and rocky areas with extreme environmental conditions. The absolute lowest air temperatures along the Power of Siberia route range from –41 degrees Celsius in the Amur Region to –62 degrees Celsius in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Gazprom uses advanced, highly reliable and energy efficient technologies and equipment in the construction of Power of Siberia. The Company employs, inter alia, domestically produced pipes with inner anti-friction coating, which allows Gazprom to make gas transmission less energy-consuming thanks to a reduction in pipe roughness and therefore in friction. External insulation coating is made of innovative domestic nanocomposite materials, which ensures high corrosion resistance of the gas pipeline. Pipes with enhanced deformation properties and special engineering solutions are used in the areas of active tectonic faults.
Reliability and cost-effectiveness were major factors in equipment selection. For instance, energy self-sufficient electric drives for pipeline valves use accumulators and can operate autonomously for 20 years, which helps reduce construction costs and energy consumption.
In delivering its projects, Gazprom pursues environmentally sustainable business practices. In order to mitigate environmental impacts, the Power of Siberia gas pipeline was designed so as to run primarily through sparse woods and fire sites (areas with burned trees). In addition, Gazprom uses rapidly deployable and self-propelled pipeline bridges in construction. One of the advantages of those bridges is that they do not require intermediate supports to cross rivers, brooks, and ravines, which is important for preserving the environment.
Power of Siberia contributes to socio-economic development in Russia’s Far East. The gas pipeline facilitates gas supplies to and gas infrastructure expansion in the Russian regions, as well as the advancement of state-of-the-art gas processing and gas chemical facilities.
