Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Jan.13 / Trend D.Azizov /
Uztransgaz, a division of the Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company which controls gas transportation and supply in Uzbekistan) will start natural gas supplies to China from April 1, 2012, the company said.
Gas will be supplied based on a contract signed between Uztransgaz and Petro China International Company Limited (unit of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)) in October 2011.
The contract was signed based on an intergovernmental agreement on the principles of construction and operation of Uzbekistan-China gas pipeline and agreement on the basic terms of gas purchase agreement between Uzbekneftegaz and CNPC signed in October, 2011.
Uztransgas does not specify volume of natural gas supplies envisaged by the export contract. In accordance with the framework agreement, China plans to purchase 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas in Uzbekistan annually.
Initially, natural gas from Uzbekistan will be supplied via the second branch of the gas pipeline. After commissioning the third branch technical capabilities for export of Uzbek gas will significantly increase.
Estimated capacity of the third branch is 25 billion cubic meters annually, the length through Uzbekistan's territory is 529 kilometers.
Gas supplies via the third branch are scheduled for January 2014 and reach the planned capacity in December 2015.
The project will be financed by loans from the Chinese State Development Bank, as well as direct investments from the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
Construction of the gas pipeline "Central Asia-China" was launched in 2008. Its total length is about 7,000 kilometers, diameter - 1,067 millimeters, capacity of two branches is 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Its length through Uzbekistan's territory hits 525 kilometers.
The first of the two branches was commissioned in Dec. 2009. The construction of the second branch was completed in 2010. The gas pipeline is designed for export of natural gas from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to China.
Operator of the project on the Uzbek section is the Uzbek-Chinese Joint Venture Asia Trans Gas established by the National Holding Company Uzbekneftegaz and CNPC.
Uzbekneftegaz is a monopoly operator in the Uzbek oil and gas complex. It was established in 1998. It unites six joint stock companies. Uzbekistan ranks second in the CIS for natural gas production and is one of the world's largest gas producers. Uzbekistan produces around 60 billion cubic meters of gas annually.