BEIJING -- Presidents Hu Jintao of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia pledged Wednesday to cooperate more closely in producing oil and gas, and Putin said he expects a closely watched pipeline to be built to carry Siberian oil to fuel China's booming economy.
Putin promised Tuesday to expand Russian energy supplies to China by opening a natural gas pipeline within five years, but there was no word of agreement on the oil pipeline. Observers were watching Putin's visit for news of that project, which is eagerly sought by Beijing.
Also Wednesday, the head of Russian oil company OAO Rosneft said it would launch joint ventures with China's leading oil firm to produce Russian crude and operate filling stations.
"We should see various ways to cooperate in energy and resources," Hu said at the opening of a Russian-Chinese business forum. "We should work hard on the exploration of energy, such as oil and gas."
China is lobbying for access to Russian oil and gas amid a worldwide scramble to secure energy for its sizzling economy, which the government says should grow by 8 percent this year.
A key project is the planned 2,550-mile Siberian pipeline to the Pacific coast. Both China and Tokyo have lobbied hard for the most favorable routing, and Russia says it is planning to build a branch to China.
"If this project is successfully completed, and I have no doubts that it won't be, it will provide for significant increase in the volume of oil supplies from Russia to China," Putin said at the business forum.
Putin didn't say when he expected the project to be completed or give other details. The Russian energy minister said Tuesday that Moscow would conduct a feasibility study and that it couldn't propose a construction timetable until the study is done.
The chief executive of OAO Rosneft, Sergei Bogdanchikov, said the company will launch ventures this year with state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. to extract and refine Russian crude and to operate filling stations in China.
Bogdanchikov, speaking to reporters at the business forum, didn't offer further details about the ventures.
