(Changes sourcing to Expert magazine) MOSCOW, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Russia plans to increase LNG exports to China from the Arctic LNG 2 and Sakhalin 2 projects, and "serious joint progress" is underway, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev told the Expert magazine. Despite Western sanctions, Arctic LNG 2, which is 60% owned by Russia's Novatek, has been sending out LNG since last year, with cargoes being delivered to two storage facilities in Russia and the Beihai LNG terminal. Russia "plans to increase supplies of not only pipeline gas but also liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China, particularly from the Arctic LNG 2 and Sakhalin 2 projects," Tsivilev was quoted as saying by Expert. "We are making significant joint progress here. Therefore, the prospects for energy cooperation between Russia, India, and China are very good." Asked about the pricing of gas through the proposed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, Tsivilev said that was a question for Gazprom and CNPC, though he added that a great deal of work had been done on settlements in national currencies. Tsivilev said that U.S. tariffs imposed on India in an attempt to force it to stop buying Russian oil had failed. He said that Russia was participating in the construction of India's largest nuclear power plant, Kudankulam. Russia, Tsivilev said, was planning the construction of what amounted to a new Russian domestic electrical power system. He said the aim was to commission 88 gigawatts of various generation capacity, including 35 gigawatts of thermal power, by 2042. On Russian oil production, he said that to achieve Russia's aim of raising oil production to 540 million tons per year by 2030, the country would need to develop "hard-to-recover" reserves. "Therefore, fine-tuning the tax regime is clearly necessary," he said, adding that the ministry was working to "incentivise the development of certain categories of reserves". (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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