Months after Gazprom signed a 'legally binding' memorandum with China, the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project remains stalled, raising questions about its fate, potentially influenced by the global energy crisis and the Iran War.

China has included several natural gas pipelines with Russia in the draft of its new five-year plan, raising market debate on whether the Power of Siberia 2 – a closely watched project viewed as symbolic of bilateral relations – could be on the fast track for construction. Along with language on two other pipelines, the draft said China would “advance preparatory work for the central route of the China-Russia natural gas pipeline” in the next five years, which some market observers interprete...