Russia's Gazprom investing $38 billion to connect arctic natural gas MOSCOW, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Russian energy company Gazprom said it was investing about $38 billion to connect an arctic natural gas deposit to its existing natural gas transit network. The management committee of the gas monopoly announced it made a final investment decision to develop the Chayandinskoye natural gas deposit in Yakutia and build about 2,000 miles of new pipeline to connect the field to existing transit networks. Gazprom described the Chayandinskoye field as the "cornerstone" of a gas production center in northern Russian. Oil, natural gas and condensate account for about 42 trillion cubic feet of reserves. The new natural gas pipeline from Yakutia would run parallel to the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, which Gazprom said would likely reduce infrastructure costs. The new pipeline could carry as much as 2.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year when it goes into service in late 2017. "In this way, Gazprom is going to build a unified gas supply system across the whole country, from the west to the east," the company said in a statement. Gazprom described conditions at the Chayandinskoye as "harsh." Average winter temperatures can dip below minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit.