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China weighs using Soviet-era rivers for Arctic goods exports

Plans for the Ob-Irtysh route would require tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure and Kazakhstan targets 2.5 million tons of cargo by 2028.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy Transition

China, Russia, and Kazakhstan are considering development of a northern trade route that would use the Irtysh and Ob rivers to move Chinese goods to Russian Arctic ports near the Yamal Peninsula, according to OilPrice.

Trade on the Ob-Irtysh system peaked at an estimated 9 million tons annually in the 1970s, then fell after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.

Kazakhstan, a key part of the system, published a development plan in 2024 aimed at raising cargo volume on its river section from near zero to 2.5 million tons per year by 2028, building dock and loading facilities able to handle 4 million tons annually, and developing passenger service.

OilPrice also notes the effort faces major hurdles, including constraints tied to global warming and competing water needs, along with the scale and timeline of required infrastructure investments, which some estimates put in the tens of billions of dollars.

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