BEIJING, Sept.28 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Gas, in June 2017, had acquired a 20 percent stake in Verkhnechonskneftegaz (a Rosneft subsidiary), for 1.1 billion U.S. dollars. Verkhnechonsk field, owned by Verkhnechonskneftegaz, now boasts steady output of 8 million tonnes annually.
Verkhnechonsk field has huge oil & gas reserves with recoverable oil reserves pegged at approximately 200 million tonnes, and gas reserves at 172.2 billion cubic meters.
Some experts believed China's investment had injected new vitality into the field, and would promote the building of a reliable energy bridge linking China and Russia.
Beijing Gas' investment in Verkhnechonsk is the first that a Chinese local enterprise bought into Russian energy assets. Xu Tong, Deputy General Manager of Beijing Gas, in charge of the acquisition, told the reporter that the Russian section "Power of Siberia" on the east route of China-Russia natural gas pipeline, which is to be completed in three years, is relatively close to the Chinese branch line. According to a report, China can expect an annual supply of 10 billion cubic meters of gas via the route, by 2020. The amount transferred to Beijing is estimated at 3 billion cubic meters per year, which would account for one sixth of Beijing's gas supply.
Xu stressed that Beijing Gas would carry forward any surplus to Tianjin and Hebei, with Beijing's gas demands met, to promote coal replacement practice in the entire region that can soon expect a steady access to Russian gas. (Edited by Niu Huizhe, niuhuizhe@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
