Gazprom scrubs at the bottom and grabs the razor. China rejects the outstretched hand and leave Putin to her fate
When the Siberia-2 force pipeline was planned in Moscow, in Gazprom they hoped that the gas pipeline would be a new opening for the company.
In Beijing, however, the project was firmly rejected. Despite this failure, Gazprom decided to save this vision in a strange way – building the strength of Siberia 2 “piece”, without the possibility of exporting gas abroad and under the cover of the gasification of Siberian regions. The consequences of this fungal policy will be deplorable, and we can see the fall of a former monopolist with our own eyes.
The new Gazprom's great project is called “Master's gas system – Eastern Pipeline System”.
In accordance with the decision of the Directors Council, preparatory work began to build a gas pipeline between AGAN and Aleksandrowskaya compressor stations. Laser area of the area was carried out and comprehensive engineering tests of the route ended.
At first glance, the combination of additional pipes existing for a long time compressor stations is a project of local importance and it seems that the company should not bear high costs.
Gazprom indicates that this episode “will create opportunities to provide additional gas to recipients in the Republic of Altai, the Altai country, the Kemerian, Nowosybirski and Tomski regions.”
The official goal of the project is to increase gas supply to recipients in the eastern part of Russia. This is needed. For example, in the Kemerov region, the gauge of the population is only over 10 percent, and on average in Russia this coefficient is about 74 percent. In the Tomski region, the situation is slightly better (the indicator reached 50 percent), and no more than 20 percent are covered in Ałtaj. residents.
On the other hand, the inconsistency of the power of the future gas pipeline with the needs of the listed regions is glaring. According to the source in Gazprom, which wanted to remain anonymous, “recipients” were collected for 10 billion cubic meters. gas per year, and the new gas pipeline is intended for transporting 50 billion cubic meters. annually.
– Load such a monster to regions affected by an economic crisis is how to fly a helicopter to the bakery – said in a conversation with me a Gazprom employee, a company whose financial situation is unpaired.
No access to China
What's more, for this section of the bus, Gazprom ordered pipes with a diameter of 1420 mm, adapted to increased pressure-140 atmospheres instead of ordinary 75-90 atmospheres. This can be achieved by improving the quality of steel (plasticity limit) and wall thickness, but this technological solution leads to a significant increase in costs and increases the risk of failure.
Nowhere in the world is such a risk. The goal of the company's management is clear – increase the flow over the planned 50 billion cubic meters. annually.
Gazprom specialists perfectly understand that the gasification of Russian recipients is just an excuse. The real goal of the project is different.
They believe that the section after the section bandwidth of the entire route from the deposits in the north of West Siberia to the Novosibirski District will be increased to these 50 billion cubic meters. Annually, and then Gazprom will build a bridge through Krasnojarsk to the Irkutsk region and connect this bus with the Siberia Strength System. In this way, the planned project of Siberia 2 will be created for a long time, but without access to China, which firmly refused to accept Russian gas in this form.
Construction of the Chinese segment of the Siberia Strength, 2015 (illustrative photos)
It is worth noting that the strength of Siberia 2 was to partly coincide with the route of another project, which was not adopted by – Ałtaj gas pipeline. The AGAN-AKSANDROWSKAJA episode is part of this route.
The sense of mass introduction of additional gas streams from traditional areas of its extraction into the strength of Siberia, even without taking into account exports to China, is understandable.
At the end of last year, the strength of Siberia achieved the designed ability to deliver to China – 38 billion cubic meters. annually. To maintain such an export stream, the Taijanda deposit in Yakutia and Kowietka in the Irkutsk region in accordance with the agreement concluded with the Chinese must extract 42 billion cubic meters. gas annually for 30 years.
However, these deposits are not able to ensure the required extraction level throughout the thirty years. According to reports from the place of mining, the work of investigating bodies is underway in Czajanda. They are looking for people responsible for falsifying the assessment of the mining potential of the deposit (according to objective indicators, it can give no more than 16.5 billion cubic meters per year, and according to the company's management statements – 25.4 billion).
When the construction of Siberia 2 was planned, in Gazprom they hoped that the new gas pipeline would partially compensate for the decrease in extraction from the deposits of Czajanda and Kowieta, but the Russian company has miscalculated.
The project has been rejected and saved the applicable contract in a different way – by building the same force of Siberia 2, but it is piece, without access to export and under the cover of the needs of the gasification of Siberian regions.
Soon we will see new decisions of the Gas Giant Directors Council regarding the increase in the bandwidth of other sections of the existing route, among others, compressor stations – and again under the slogans of accelerated gasification.
