Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — In the coming years, Russia plans to increase its natural gas supplies to Central Asian countries to 10–15 billion cubic meters annually, TASS reported.

According to Alexei Grivach, Deputy Head of the National Energy Security Fund, work is underway with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to enhance the capacity of the “Central Asia – Center” gas pipeline in reverse mode. The potential supply volume is estimated at 10–12 billion cubic meters, and analysts from “Finam” believe this figure could reach 15 billion cubic meters per year.

At the same time, Russia will increase its gas exports to China. It is expected that the throughput of the “Power of Siberia” gas pipeline will exceed its design capacity of 38 billion cubic meters in 2025, thanks to additional agreements with Chinese partners. In 2027, the launch of the Far Eastern route will increase the total supply volumes to China to 48 billion cubic meters.

Furthermore, two new gas pipeline routes to China are under consideration: “Power of Siberia – 2” through Mongolia, with a capacity of 50 billion cubic meters, and a pipeline through Kazakhstan, designed for 45 billion cubic meters (35 billion for China and 10 billion for Kazakhstan’s gasification).

Experts note that the “Power of Siberia – 2” project looks more promising as it will enable gasification of Siberian cities and supply energy resources to major Chinese agglomerations. However, the key factor will be the economic feasibility, including construction costs and the agreed pricing formula.

The construction project of the Iran – Pakistan – India gas pipeline has been under discussion since 1996. In 2021, Gazprom withdrew from the project due to high costs, but under new geopolitical conditions, the project could become relevant again.

Grivach noted that negotiations on transit through Iran are still at an early stage. However, analysts from “Finam” believe that, with the development of the LNG market, interest in the gas pipeline to India has decreased.