HONG KONG—Gazprom's finance chief expects a major gas-supply deal the Russian company struck with China last year to be profitable despite the current slump in global energy prices.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Gazprom Chief Financial Officer Andrey Kruglov said the company views the current fall in oil prices as part of a normal cyclical process.

"We are not a sprinter, we are marathon runners," Mr. Kruglov said. "That's why we are trying to build up our position as a gas exporter for Asian markets."

Mr. Kruglov said the company wouldn't deliver the first gas under that deal until 2019 at the earliest, by which time pricing conditions may have improved. He said the deal, under which the price of the gas it sells will be linked to oil prices, would be profitable for Gazprom even if oil were to remain at is current low levels.

Gazprom has traditionally made most of its sales overseas to European customers ranging from power utilities to other resource companies, but Asia is playing a greater role in Gazprom's plans. The company expects to make 30% of its sales abroad to Asian countries by 2025, and over the longer term, its share of exports to Asia and Europe will be roughly equal.

Gazprom took a step forward in its pivot toward Asia last year when it agreed to sell gas to China over a 30-year period in a deal valued at about $400 billion.

Gas companies globally have spent billions of dollars in recent years on new projects, often in the hope of exporting more to meet an expected fast rise in Chinese demand. But the slowdown in China's economic growth this year has sent shivers through the industry, with the country's gas demand rising by only 2% in the first half of 2015, compared with double-digit growth rates in recent years.

Mr. Kruglov said Gazprom still expected Chinese gas demand to grow strongly, as it currently only accounts for around 2% of the country's power generation needs, a much lower rate than in most developed countries.

"That's why we are optimistic, despite the temporary slowing of Chinese gas demand," he said.

Gazprom's China gas deal includes plans to build a pipeline from Russia to China. Mr. Kruglov said Gazprom would be able to fund its share of the estimated $55 billion pipeline from its own resources. While Gazprom's net debt has risen in recent years, Mr. Kruglov said it remained well within target relative to the company's earnings.

He said Gazprom could look to tap overseas investors for as much as $1 billion of new debt this autumn, if market conditions are "acceptable."

Gazprom's prospects became further tied to China late last year when it agreed a second deal to supply the country's western region with as much as 30 billion cubic meters of gas over the next 30 years. However, the price at which it will sell that gas hasn't yet been agreed: Mr. Kruglov said the deal was still under negotiation.

"We are not ready to sell gas to anyone [under] unreasonable conditions," he said, adding he was "optimistic" there would be a favorable outcome to the talks.

While it is expanding in Asia, Gazprom faces threats within its major European export market. Demand for its gas has stagnated there and many within Europe are hoping to reduce the continent's dependence on Russian gas. Earlier this year the European Commission accused Gazprom of hindering gas-market competition and of charging unfair prices to its customers in Central and Eastern Europe.

Last week Gazprom held an auction to sell its gas to European buyers at spot prices rather than at oil-linked prices, a move analysts interpreted as a sign the company is willing to be more flexible on the terms of its European sales.

Mr. Kruglov said European buyers could find that alternative gas supplies -- for example, liquefied natural gas imported from countries such as Qatar -- could be more expensive than Russian gas.

"If [energy prices] are increased because of the replacement of Russian gas, it will be quite sensitive for everyone," he said.

Mr. Kruglov said Western sanctions against Russia's oil and gas industry, which have limited the amount of technology foreign companies can sell to Russia, had so far mostly benefited the law firms that are helping Gazprom amend relevant contract terms.

"This makes additional work for us," he said. "We can live with it, but for sure it creates some barriers in our activity. …We cannot ignore the sanctions."

Write to Andrew Peaple at andrew.peaple@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 15, 2015 08:05 ET (12:05 GMT)