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* Heavy investment needed after China supply deal
* Putin suggests money could come from gold, forex reserves
* Calls for reduced reliance on foreign energy equipment
By Vladimir Soldatkin
ASTRAKHAN, Russia, June 4 (Reuters) - President VladimirPutin said on Wednesday that Russia should considerrecapitalising state gas company Gazprom after a $400billion deal with China which will require multi-billion-dollarinvestments in pipelines and new fields.
"The government and finance ministry should consider thepossibility of recapitalising Gazprom in the amount needed tobuild up new infrastructure," Putin said at a meeting on energystrategy in the southern city of Astrakhan.
Boosting Gazprom's capital would put additional pressure onthe Russian economy, already slowing due to a lack of reformsand following Western sanctions on Russia over its annexation ofCrimea, which have weighed on the rouble and triggered capitaloutflows.
Russian authorities have estimated that the 30-year Chinadeal could add 0.3-0.4 percentage points to economic growthannually from 2015. The economy is likely to grow by around 0.5percent this year, the central bank said.
The $400 billion deal, signed during a visit by Putin lastmonth, secured a major source of supply for China, the world'stop energy user, and opened up a new market for Moscow, whichrisks losing European customers over the Ukraine crisis.
Russia plans to invest $55 billion in exploration andpipeline construction to China's border, and China's CNPC saidit would build the Chinese section of the pipeline. A Gazpromexecutive said China would provide a $25 billion pre-payment.
Putin did not say how exactly Gazprom could be recapitalisedbut hinted it could be done from Russia's gold and foreignexchange reserves.
"In the modern world, endless increases in gold and foreignexchange reserves hold some risks as well," Putin said, addingthat the Chinese contract was certain to recoup the investmentsin the long run.
Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves, the world'sfourth largest, stood at $468.4 billion as of last week, downalmost $41 billion since the start of the year because of marketvolatility caused by the Ukraine crisis.
For now, Europe is Gazprom's key export market. Thecontinent gets a third of its gas needs from Moscow, and abouthalf of this is pumped via Ukraine.
Moscow and Kiev are in the middle of their third gas row ina decade, which also threatens to disrupt supplies to Europe.
CALL TO CUT RELIANCE
Following the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March,the United States and European Union imposed sanctions onMoscow, spurring talk of a need to diversify the Russianeconomy, including its financial and energy sectors, away fromthe West.
Putin told the meeting Russia should reduce reliance onforeign equipment in the energy sector and step up efforts toexploit oil and gas in Siberia and Russia's Far East, whichborders China.
"Import substitution is not a panacea for all the problemsbut we understand that it may allow us to guarantee theimplementation of many projects," Putin said, adding that Russiawould not halt imports altogether.
Russian energy companies have so far said that Westernsanctions have not affected their cooperation with global energymajors such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell.
Oil production in Russia, the world's top crude producer,has fallen for five months running, highlighting the need toexplore for unconventional resources and remote fields, whereforeign know-how is most needed.
Gazprom Neft, Russia's No.4 oil producer, has already saidit may look to domestic or Asian suppliers for drilling rigs ifneeded.
Some companies admit there could be risks in borrowingabroad because of sanctions.
Igor Sechin, CEO of Russia's state oil producer Rosneft, publicly acknowledged this for the first time onWednesday when he told Putin the company faced potential risksboth in borrowing abroad and implementing its foreign projects.
Sechin, although not Rosneft, is on the U.S. sanctions listas a close ally of Putin. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Katya Golubkova;Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
