Putin Rebrands Planned China Gas Pipeline to ‘Power of Baikal’ Amid Stalled Price Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially renamed the long-planned "Power of Siberia 2" natural gas pipeline to China, rebranding the strategic infrastructure project as the "Power of Baikal," Russia’s Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev announced Wednesday.

Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, Tsivilev said project officials are entering the final preparations to begin physical construction on the energy corridor.

"We are in the final stages of moving to the construction of the project formerly known as Power of Siberia 2, but thanks to Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin), he named it, quite literally, Power of Baikal," Tsivilev told attendees at the summit.

The massive infrastructure enterprise spans approximately 2,600 kilometers (1,616 miles) and is designed to transport up to 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.

The pipeline will originate in the Arctic gas fields of Yamal, cross Mongolia, and deliver fuel directly to Chinese markets.

Once operational, the supply line will complement the existing Power of Siberia 1 pipeline, an established route that supplied 38 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to China last year.

Despite official statements signaling an impending move to the construction phase, the mega-project has experienced extensive delays over the years due to prolonged negotiations regarding pricing terms between Moscow and Beijing.

Addressing pricing structures, Putin previously noted that the valuation of the gas delivered via the link would rely on a standardized market formula akin to the pricing mechanism Russia historically utilized for calculating energy shipments to European buyers.

Tsivilev provided no immediate clarification on whether the president’s renaming directive accompanied any structural, technical, or financial modifications to the energy pipeline project.