RusEnergy

MOSCOW, June 19, 2009 - (UPI) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao concluded his visit to Russia Thursday, which included a $100 billion agreement covering deliveries of Russian oil to China. Trud newspaper reported Friday that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised the agreement, telling reporters, "The deal worth about $100 billion is the largest ever concluded between Russia and China." Under the terms of the agreement, over the next two decades China will receive 300 million tons of Russian oil. Transneft's Head of Public Relations Igor Demin remarked that agreement formalized discussions earlier this year during which the two parties agreed in principle on long-term supplies of Russian oil, with China providing loans to Transneft and Rosneft to construct the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline to ship the oil. Among the factors influencing Moscow's decision are the fact that Europe has ceased to be an attractive growth market, the increasing depletion of Western Russia's oil resources and Moscow's interest in developing its eastern regions' economy through massive infrastructure projects.