Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Aug. 15
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which operates in Turkmenistan on the Bagtyyarlyk contractual territory, has invested more than $8 billion in the country's economy during 12 years, Trend reports referring to Neytralni Turkmenistan newspaper.
A CNPC representative described gas cooperation with Turkmenistan as strategic and long-term.
Turkmenistan with its natural resources is one of the richest countries in the world. There is a steady upward trend in the demand for natural gas in China.
“Therefore, energy cooperation is mutually beneficial and very promising for both countries,” the representative said. “The Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline testifies to that. Presently, Turkmen gas is supplied to 22 Chinese provinces.”
As of June 30, 2019, almost 280 billion cubic meters of gas have been exported from Central Asia via a pipeline to China since December 2009. More than 80 percent of this volume was obtained from the Turkmen fields primarily used by Turkmengas state concern.
The project of construction of the fourth branch (D) of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline to be laid along the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan route has entered the stage of implementation. After putting it into operation, the total capacity of the pipeline will increase up to 85 billion cubic meters, while the export of the Turkmen natural gas to China will grow up to 65 billion cubic meters per year.
The Central Asia–China gas pipeline includes three parallel branches (A, B and C), the length of each of which is 1,830 kilometers. On the territory of China, they are connected to West-East gas pipeline with a length of about 10,000 kilometers.