Antonina Levashenko, Head of International Best Practices Analysis Department at the Gaidar Institute, commented for TASS about the prospects for the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which is intended to connect gas fields in Western Siberia with China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region via Mongolia. Power of Siberia 2, which is to connect the gas fields of Western Siberia with the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China via Mongolia.
"The planned Power of Siberia 2 project will offer the following benefits for both sides. According to analysts at Trends Research, Russian gas exports to Europe via pipelines will decline to 45% by 2025 from 2022. At the same time, based on European initiatives, Russian imports are planned to be reduced to zero by 2028. Accordingly, Russia's main focus for supplies is now the East, primarily China, which, according to CREA, was the second largest buyer of Russian pipeline gas after the EU in July 2025, purchasing approximately 30% of Russian gas," said Antonina Levashenko.
The expert noted that the capacity of the second project is expected to increase from 38 bn cubic meters in 2025 to 50 bn cubic meters. "In addition, it is planned to use the Siberian gas fields—Sakhalin, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, and Krasnoyarsk—which were used to feed the European pipeline. This means that the planned project with China will eventually make it possible to replace the loss of European imports," Antonina Levashenko pointed out.
She also drew attention to the economic benefits of the project for China: “For China, Russian gas is a more profitable alternative, as it is usually supplied to the country at a lower price.”
In addition, “the development of the Siberian pipeline will contribute to the economic development of the Far East, promote the gasification of remote Siberian regions, create infrastructure in the regions, and generate additional jobs,” the expert added.
Based on the construction period of the first gas project, which took place from 2014 to 2019, Antonina Levashenko predicted that the construction of the new gas pipeline would also take about 4-5 years.