Amid growing tensions with the West, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called for Russia’s first pipeline to Asia to be completed without delay. Putin issued the call Sunday from a giant oil terminal being built on Russia’s Pacific coast. The completion of this pipeline will open up the energy-hungry markets of China and Japan to the practically untapped oil reserves of Eastern Siberia.

The Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, which is being constructed by state-backed pipeline monopoly Transneft, is to connect the oil fields surrounding the city of Tayshet with the coastal city of Kozmino. The first half of this pipeline is on schedule to be completed sometime in 2009. This section will be able to transport 600,000 barrels of crude oil a day to the Russian city of Skovorodino, on the Chinese border. From there, the oil can either be shipped into China or taken by rail to the coast in order to be shipped to Japan.

Putin’s announcement that there must be no delays in this pipelines construction serves as a warning to Europe that Moscow does not have to ship all of its oil westward. Russia has cut natural gas shipments to Europe in past times of political tension as a reminder to the West of the energy leverage that Moscow holds. Now, with the European Union mulling sanctions against Russia, Putin is reminding Europe that he has an alternative client base in the Far East.

Russia is the second-largest oil producer in the world, while China is a relatively oil-deficient region with a booming economy. An energy partnership between these two nations would greatly benefit both parties. The only real obstacle to such an energy agreement is that there is a lack of oil-transporting infrastructure traversing the Siberian wilderness. Once Moscow gets pipelines in place, however, Russia is likely to become one of East Asia’s chief energy suppliers.

For more information on the forming alliance between Russia and China, read Russia and China in Prophecy.