Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Aug. 22
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Uzbekistan’s Uzbekneftegaz have begun preparing a project for the construction of the fourth branch (D) of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline, which uses the deposits of Turkmenistan as its raw materials base, Trend reports referring to the Turkmengas State Concern.
It is expected that the pipeline will pass through the territory of Uzbekistan’s Surkhondaryo region. In Tajikistan, the project is being implemented by Trans-Tajik Gas Pipeline, a joint venture created by CNPC and Tajiktransgaz, the information reads.
The construction of a 1.56-kilometers long tunnel on the gas pipeline, passing through the Alay Mountains, is being completed. It is planned to begin construction of the remaining 4 tunnels soon. Branch D, which will also be laid across the borders of Kyrgyzstan, is designed to supply gas to the southern and central parts of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
The length of the route will be about 1,000 kilometers, and its throughput will make up 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The total cost of the project is $6.7 billion. In accordance with intergovernmental agreements, after the commissioning of the 4th branch of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline, the supply of natural gas from Turkmenistan to China will increase to 65 billion cubic meters per year, Turkmengas notes.
The existing Central Asia-China gas pipeline includes three parallel branches (A, B and C) that run along the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China route. The main volume of gas supplies to China, ranging from 35 to 40 billion cubic meters per year, is provided by Turkmenistan.