Gazprom a $400bn deal between Gazprom and CNPC. Under the contract, Russia was to supply 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually over 30 years at a cost of $350 per thousand cubic meters beginning in 2018. During the first half of 2018, Gazprom increased its export about 8.7%. In 2013, the average price of Gazprom’s gas in Europe was about $380 per thousand cubic meters. China offered a loan of about $50bn to finance development of the gas fields and the construction of the pipeline by Russia up to the Chinese border, with the Chinese to build the remaining pipeline.
Central Energy Italian Gas Holding having a personal interest in the contract. Robert Nowikovsky, an Austrian lawyer linked to Russian operations, was one of the company's directors. The 2008 article "Berlusconi, Centrex, Hexagon 1 and 2 and Gazprom" suggested: Central Energy Company Inc Central Energy Italian Gas Holding Central Energy Italian Inc is a gas distribution and trade company. It is a part of the Central Energy ], a company related to Gazprom. A deal between Italian Eni and Gazprom picked CEI as a partner delivering gas to Italy. Investigations by members of the Italian parliament revealed that Bruno Mentasti-Granelli, who is known as a