Russia is pushing ahead with its plans to build a new massive natural gas line to China because of Western sanctions.
The design and survey work for the Soyuz Vostok gas line will be performed by Gazprom, the energy giant said on Monday.
Russian natural gas could be delivered to China via a proposed route through Mongolia.
It was reported that the deal could be the biggest ever between Russia and China.
The European Union, UK, US, Canada, and Japan have imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
The measures have led to a slump in the ruble, a hike in interest rates, and a rise in inflation.
Europe gets around 40% of its natural gas supply from Russia and has continued to rely on it since the invasion started.
China has refrained from calling Moscow's actions an invasion. China bought a third of Russia's crude oil exports in 2020. Russia gets manufactured products from cell phones to toys.
As energy majors in the West announced they were selling off their Russian interests, the Soyuz Vostok link could offer Russia better access to alternative markets in the East. Shell said on Tuesday that it was pulling out of its joint ventures with Gazprom and related businesses, while BP said it was dumping its 20% stake in the Russian state-backed oil firm.
E.ON, Germany's largest energy firm, said it had rejected calls to shut down the Nord Stream 1 line, which continues to pump Russian natural gas to Europe.
If a new supply deal is reached between Russia and China, it's possible for Gazprom to divert gas from fields in Europe that are only used for Europe to China.
The energy company said that Alexei Miller, chair of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan, deputy prime minister of Mongolia, discussed the Soyuz Vostok project at a meeting on Monday.
The Power of Siberia 2 is also known as the Soyuz Vostok. The Power of Siberia 1 has been pumping natural gas from Russia to China since the beginning of the year.
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