Development of Oil and Gas Pipelines in North East Asia

摘要

East-Central Siberia is home to very large hydrocarbon reserves. Alongside the competition between China, Japan and South Korea for these resources, there are short to medium term supply problems related to developing these fields for production. The Russian Government has postponed the decision between an oil pipeline from Angarsk to Daqing in China and its alternative longer line to Nakhodka. It is possible, however, that Russian priorities require paying closer attention to a line from the Western Siberian pipelines to Murmansk. Meanwhile, China has opted for a natural gas pipeline trajectory from Angarsk to Beijing that circumvents Mongolian territory. Going through Mongolia would shorten the pipeline by some 1500 km. The paper describes already existing banking and credit mechanisms for mitigating political risks associated with cross-border projects. In Central Asia, on the other hand, China' s recent agreements with Kazakhstan point to a firm, albeit slowly expanding, commitment for oil transmission into Xinjiang Province. However, importing gas from Kazakhstan is seen as expensive and appears to serve as a strategic back up for supplies in Xinjiang, which feed the West-East natural gas pipeline into Shanghai.