Why Not Both»

Transneft, the Russian State-owned oil transport company, has outlined a new plan for an oil pipeline that would bring Russian oil to both China and Japan. The new pipeline would start from the Baikal-Amur rail junction and run north of Lake Baikal to Nakhodka by the Pacific. There would also be a branch line running to China, with the pipeline spanning a total distance of 4100 km and taking four years to construct.

The new proposal by no means indicates that the plan would go through. "There have been numerous proposals for pipelines already, and they all has to go through the Kremlin for approval first," according to a Transneft spokesperson.

China and Japan have been competing for the pipeline, and Japan appeared to have gained an edge over China when Russian Energy Minister Igor Yusufov said last month that the Russian-Japanese pipeline was of "greater strategic importance" for Russia.