Following a proposal which was tabled four years ago an oil
pipeline running from Russia to India through China is under active
consideration, an industry expert said yesterday.
"The project is very likely to succeed," said Xia Yishan, a
senior research fellow with the China Institute of International
Studies, at the Third Sino-Russo-Kazakh Oil and Gas Forum in
Shanghai.
Xia, who is an expert in the National Energy Leading Group and
has been actively involved in big oil and gas projects in the
country, said several options were under discussion about the route
of the pipeline.
One is for it to run from Russia to Altay in the Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region in Northwest China, to go over the Tianshan
Mountain and extend south to Kunlun Mountain to India.
"India is the most active party in the project," Xia said.
"China, as the country through which the pipeline will pass, will
also benefit." This would be getting a financial return as a
transit country and possibly securing cheaper oil.
However, Vladimir Saenko, head of the State Energy Policy
Department of the Ministry of Industry and Energy of Russia, said
it was still too early to discuss the pipeline’s route. "The talks
will be difficult and prolonged," he said. "It may be simpler to
ship the oil by sea."
China's first cross-border pipeline started pumping oil from
Kazakhstan in May and carries around 200,000 barrels of crude a
day.
(China Daily December 7, 2006)