Natural gas in east Siberia and the Russian far east: A view from the Chinese corner

Summary

Complementary interests in Russia and China, at both national and local levels, are likely to ensure that the natural gas reserves of East Siberia and the Russian Far East are developed in the near future. Which fields are developed first and which transport routes are chosen will depend on the interaction of three types of influence: finance, energy security, and politics. Any one of the major field development and pipeline projects will almost certainly require foreign sources of finance. Given the present state of the economies of South Korea and Japan, funding for these projects will probably come mainly from western banks and multilateral agencies, both of which set the parameters that will affect the development and choice of projects. China as the consumer and Russia as the seller will seek security for their supply and their market respectively. These requirements will impact on how the gas transportation infrastructure is developed. Furthermore, the political considerations involve not just the relationships between the nations of Northeast Asia, but the domestic political forces within the respective regions of China and eastern Russia.