China is in talks with Russia’s Rosneft (ROSN.MM), Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Novatek (NVTK.MM) about the joint development of oil and gas fields and hydrocarbon trade, state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said on Wednesday.

Russia is counting on a planned new pipeline to China as it seeks to make up for lost gas sales in Europe, but industry insiders see major political risks around a project that is overly dependent on one buyer and question whether it will justify the huge costs.

“We are now discussing with Rosneft, Gazprom and Novatek questions on the joint development of oil and gas fields, widening the capacity of pipeline projects and trade of hydrocarbons,” said CNPC Vice President Xie Jun at the St Petersburg International Gas Forum.

CNPC and Gazprom are working on speeding up Russian gas supplies to China via the Far Eastern route, he added. Gazprom later said it had signed an agreement with the CNPC and PipeChina on design and construction of a pipeline section in the Far East.

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Russian gas supplies to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline began in December 2019 and are expected to reach the contractual level of 38 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year in 2025.

Gazprom signed a second contract to supply 10 bcm per year via the Far Eastern route in February 2022.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said the company was preparing to increase supplies to Central Asian countries Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and provide gas with cooperation for 15 years from 2024.

Russia has been trying to redirect supplies to Asia since its major customers in Europe slashed Russian energy imports after Moscow launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022.