China imports huge volume of Turkmen gas
By Aynur Jafarova
China has imported 93 billion cubic meters of tank gas from Turkmenistan as of mid-November.
In particular, some 66.3 billion cubic meters were supplied by the Turkmengaz State Concern and 26.7 billion cubic meters from the Bagtyyarlyk contractual territory, where CNPC Company is implementing development projects on the basis of Production Sharing Agreement jointly with the Turkmen government, Chinese CNPC Company said.
The total volume of gas delivered from Central Asia to China by
A, B and C pipelines reached 100 billion cubic meters in the
reported period.
CNPC has been buying fossil fuel from this region since 2009, after
the launch of the first two A and B branches of the pipeline from
Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The third C branch,
which also passes through this route and ends in Khorgos, China,
was put into operation on May 2014.
Currently, works are underway on the construction of additional,
fourth D branch on a new transit, through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan
and Kyrgyzstan which will be launched at the end of 2016. The
length of the D line is about 1,000 kilometers.
China, a major energy consumer, and Turkmenistan, a major energy producer, enjoy a natural advantage and huge capacities in energy cooperation.
China is one of the key buyers of Turkmen gas, and intends to increase its annual purchases up to 65 billion cubic meters of gas.
Turkmenistan is one of the key players in the energy market of the resource-rich Caspian region. The Central Asian state has the world's fourth largest natural gas reserves after Russia, Iran, and Qatar, and produces about 70-80 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
To date, Turkmenistan and China have implemented a number of important projects. The large scale project for construction of a gas pipeline which ensures the long-term supply of Turkmen gas to China is among them.
In 2021, the volume of annually delivered Turkmen natural gas to China within the framework of the economic zone of the Silk Road is expected to reach 65 billion cubic meters, CNPC said.