Novak made quick agreements with China, and the gas pipeline route will pass through the south of Baikal

Russia and China may reach commercial agreements on the Power of Baikal gas pipeline by the end of 2026. On October 21, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters, commenting on the course of negotiations between the companies of the two countries. “We are waiting for our companies to conduct commercial negotiations. We hope that by the end of the year they will reach the relevant agreements, he said.

Novak also explained why the project, formerly known as the Power of Siberia-2, was given a new name. This is necessary to distinguish it from the existing Power of Siberia gas pipeline and to emphasize the region through which the route will pass. “It is also important to emphasize the region through which the route will pass. And the route will pass through the southern shore of Lake Baikal, the deputy prime minister said.

For Buryatia, this has a direct meaning: the southern shore of Baikal is the territory of the republic, and it is through it, according to the announced plans, the export highway will pass. Although the pipeline route itself eventually goes to China through Mongolia, the very name of the “Power of Baikal” and Novak’s explanations actually cement Buryatia’s status as a region through which one of Russia’s key energy projects runs east.

Earlier, Russia and China signed a legally binding memorandum on the construction of a gas pipeline with a capacity of up to 50 billion cubic meters per year from the fields of Yamal and Western Siberia. The document also regulates the creation of a transit branch of the Union East through the territory of Mongolia. For the first time about the possible renaming of the project in September, energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev, noting that the name was proposed by President Vladimir Putin.