MOSCOW 

Russia will become China's largest gas supplier once the Power of Siberia and Far Eastern lines are fully operational in less than three years, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said on Friday.

"In 2027, the Far Eastern route will be launched with a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year. With the Power of Siberia and the Far Eastern route reaching full capacity, Russia will become the largest gas supplier to China," Miller said in a statement.

China's demand for natural gas will continue to grow, he added.

Noting that Gazprom's natural gas supplies to China through the Power of Siberia line are "systematically" increasing, he said: "The gas pipeline will reach the specified export capacity of 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year," when the line expected to reach its design capacity next year.

"We continued to renew historical records of daily exports to Chinese consumers at the beginning of the year," he said.

Miller said Russia's goal is to expand natural gas transportation capacity and provide reliable, long-term gas supplies to Central Asian consumers, citing rising energy demand in the region.

The CEO said the first gas supplies to Uzbekistan via the Central Asia-Central line began last year.

Last year, Gazprom made a loss for the first time since 1999, and the company is trying to diversify its export markets to compensate for the loss of the European market.

*Writing by Yasin Gungor in Istanbul