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China to Buy Russian Gas in Roubles, Yuan, Says Gazprom

The move is blow to the US dollar as Russia bids to reduce its reliance on Western banking systems after it was hit by sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine


Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller at an annual general meeting of the company's shareholders in Moscow. Photo: Reuters
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller at an annual general meeting of the company's shareholders in Moscow. Photo: Reuters

 

China is to start paying for Russian gas in yuan and roubles, Russian energy giant Gazprom claimed on Tuesday.

Gazprom said it had signed an agreement to start switching payments for gas supplies to the Chinese and Russian currencies instead of US dollars.

The shift is part of a push by Russia to reduce its reliance on the US dollar, euro and other hard currencies in its banking system and for trade – a drive that Moscow has accelerated since it was hit with Western sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has been forging closer economic ties with China and other non-Western countries, in particular, as new markets for its vital hydrocarbon exports.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said allowing for payments in Russian roubles and Chinese yuan was “mutually beneficial” for both Gazprom and Beijing’s state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation.

 

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“It will simplify the calculations, become an excellent example for other companies and give an additional impetus for the development of our economies,” he said.

Gazprom did not provide further details on the scheme or say when payments would switch from dollars into roubles and yuan.

President Vladimir Putin earlier this year forced European customers to open rouble bank accounts with Gazprombank and pay in Russian currency if they wanted to continue receiving Russian gas. Supplies were cut off to some companies and countries that refused the terms of the deal.

Russia signed a landmark $37.5 billion extension to its deal to supply gas to China on the eve of the invasion.

It started pumping gas to China through the 3,000-km (1,865 mile) Power of Siberia gas pipeline in late 2019. Putin hailed the move as a “genuinely historical event, not only for the global energy market, but above all for us, for Russia and China.”

 

  • By Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara

 

Read more:

Gazprom, CNPC Sign Deal on Supplying Russian Gas to China

Russia’s Gazprom Asks India’s GAIL to Pay for Gas in Euros

 

 

Sean O'Meara

Sean O'Meara is an Editor at Asia Financial. He has been a newspaper man for more than 30 years, working at local, regional and national titles in the UK as a writer, sub-editor, page designer and print editor. A football, cricket and rugby fan, he has a particular interest in sports finance.

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