A Gazprom delegation chaired by Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee paid a visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Within the visit Alexander Medvedev met with Zhou Jipping, Vice President of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The parties discussed further perspectives for the execution of the Protocol for Natural Gas Supplies to PRC. Particularly, the parties discussed issues with regard to agreeing on the concrete terms and conditions for gas supplies from Russia to China via the Western and Eastern routes. The participants stated the need to speed up this work with regard of the development trends in the global and Chinese energy markets.

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China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is the China’s largest 100 per cent-state owned oil and gas business and one of the leading integrated oil and gas companies of the world.

CNPC and its subsidiaries supply 79 per cent of the domestic oil market, control 95 per cent and 40 per cent of the China’s natural gas and petroleum markets, respectively, and are involved in 25 international projects.

Gazprom and CNPC sealed an Agreement for Strategic Cooperation on October 14, 2004. The Agreement covers a wide spectrum of joint businesses including scrupulous discussion of issues relative to the organization of Gazprom’s natural gas deliveries to the PRC. To steer the Agreement implementation, the parties set up a Joint Coordinating Committee.

On March 21-22, within the official visit of the Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin to the PRC, Gazprom and CNPC inked a Protocol on Natural Gas Supply from Russia to the PRC, fixing major accords on the gas supply timing, amount and routes (Eastern and Western), and gas pricing formula principles.