YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, Russia (Agencies) —China may offer Russia's state-controlled natural-gas giant a large loan as part of a new long-term gas deal between the two countries, an executive from OAO Gazprom said Wednesday.

The possibility of a loan for hydrocarbons, similar to the $25 billion given to Russia's state oil giant and pipeline operator, comes as Russia and China are hammering out terms for a 30-year gas contract, similar to the deals seen in Western European countries. As it seeks to build international competition for its gas, Russia may also build a new branch pipeline to northeastern China.
""The Chinese are interested in providing proper conditions which could positively influence the price parameters,"" Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Alexander Medvedev said in an interview. ""It is quite obvious that cheap money would make the deal more lucrative for Chinese buyers.""
China, which already has deals with gas-rich Turkmenistan, is seeking to buy gas more cheaply than Gazprom's European consumers, which typically lock in mandatory long-term supplies at a price linked to oil, with only small volumes linked to the spot price for gas.
""The loan would mean that the overall cost of the project to deliver Russian gas to China will be lower, since the monopoly will be able to apply the credit line toward the construction of gas pipelines,"" UniCredit SpA analyst Artem Konchin said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev traveled to Beijing earlier this week in part to help further the gas accord, under which China is to buy 30 billion cubic meters of Russian gas a year over the next 30 years.
Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp., negotiating since 2006, expect to sign a final deal in July next year and begin exports through a pipeline through the Altai Mountains into northwestern China at the end of 2015.
Some analysts have said China is in less of a hurry to secure Russian supplies than it was four years ago, as it is increasing supplies from alternative sources, such as liquefied natural gas. But Russia is willing to compromise at it is eager to diversify gas supplies to Asia, China in particular, as demand for its gas has fallen in Europe—Gazprom's most profitable export market—amid an economic slowdown.
----Dialogue with India
Russia and China will step up dialogue with India to enhance regional cooperation among the three countries to create stability in the Asia-Pacific region, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
Issues relating the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping figured in the talks between Hu and Medvedev. They also discussed issues related to Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) during the just concluded visit of the Russian leader, the Ministry said.
The two leaders not only discussed issues related to RIC but it also figured in the joint statement issued at the end of the visit of Medvedev on Tuesday, officials of the Ministry told PTI here.
Last meeting of the RIC Foreign Ministers was held in Bangalore in October 2009 during which the three countries discussed a host of issues including issues relating to terrorism, climate change and reducing the impact of global recession.
Photo: Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chief Executive of Russia's Gazprom, speaks during an interview in Berlin January 21, 2010. Gazprom plans to deliver gas to energy-hungry China from 2015, Medvedev said, as the company opens one of the world's largest economies for Russian supplies of the fuel. (Photo: Reuters)