“Negotiations for a natural gas pipeline from Russia’s Eastern Siberia to China and South Korea are likely to conclude in three to four months,” said Dudley, who confirmed the negotiations between Rusia Petroleum, China National Petroleum Corporation and Kogas are currently centred on the price of gas.

“The project has yet to receive government approval, which was delayed due to the recent elections in Russia. However, it [is] only a matter of time before an official announcement [is] made,” said Dudley.

The completed pipeline is expected to transport 20 billion cubic metres of gas to China’s northeastern provinces and around 10 billion cubic metres to South Korea via Dalian. The time frame of the shipment was not mentioned.