Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 21
Daniyar Mukhtarov - Trend:
Gas supplies from Kazakhstan to China since June 2013 have amounted to about 135 million cubic meters, the Kazakh Minister of Oil and Gas Uzakbai Karabalin told Trend.
According to him, the gas has been supplied through the Sarybulak-Zimunai gas pipeline, constructed this summer.
Tarbagatay Munay LLP is the operator of the Sarybulak-Zimunai gas pipeline, with a 49 per cent equity share held by Chinese company Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Co. The pipeline capacity is 500 million cubic meters
The project agreement between Kazakhstan and China was signed in Beijing in November 2012. Under the agreement, the priority is to provide gas to the domestic market within the existing infrastructure. According to plans, 68,000 customers will be able to use natural gas from the Sarybulak field, including residents of the city of Zaysan and villages located near the pipeline.
In addition, according to the minister, in the future gas may be delivered for export from the western fields of Kazakhstan, by the Beyneu-Bozoi-Shymkent gas pipeline (the second section of the Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline) through the first section of the Kazakhstan-China pipeline (the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline).
The total capacity of the Beyneu-Bozoi-Shymkent gas pipeline will reach 10 billion cubic meters per year.
In this case, by an agreement between Kazakhstan and China on cooperation in the construction and operation of the Kazakhstan-China pipeline, it is envisaged to supply gas to the internal market and supply the surplus for export.