Russian gas firm OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) and China National Petroleum Corp., or CNPC, may reach an agreement on the pricing for gas supplies early next year, the Prime-Tass news agency said Tuesday citing Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin.
Gazprom's Chief Executive Alexei Miller said earlier Tuesday that China and Russia were set to sign a framework deal under which 70 billion cubic meters of natural gas would be sent to China annually.
In 2006, Russia agreed in principle to supply natural gas to China through a new pipeline, but a final deal and construction of the pipeline has been put off due to disagreements over pricing.