Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China in October 2004 is expected to center on a long-unresolved question: whether Russia will build an oil pipeline eastward to China or to Japan. Moscow has delayed a firm commitment for years, balancing economic calculations against diplomatic and environmental concerns.
The China option would stretch roughly 2,400 kilometers from Angarsk to Daqing, while a Japan-bound line would run more than 4,100 kilometers to the Pacific port of Nakhodka at an estimated cost of 16 billion dollars. Russian officials and energy executives have muddied the waters by making competing assurances to both countries.
Former deputy energy minister Vladimir Milov says central Siberian fields could fill a China pipeline, but warns that supplying only one customer gives Beijing leverage to demand lower prices. Environmental objections also complicate that route: China insists the pipeline avoid Mongolia and pass close to Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Japan route could serve South Korea and potentially US West Coast markets, but analysts doubt Russia can sustain the roughly 50 million tonnes of annual output needed to make the longer, costlier line profitable. Financial turmoil at oil major Yukos, a key backer of the China route, has further clouded prospects for either project.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.