ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, July 10. Turkmenistan intends to continue working on the implementation of new projects related to increasing natural gas supplies to China, Rashid Meredov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, said, Trend reports.
He made the remark at the meeting with Hou Qijun, Board member and President at China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), who was on a working visit to Ashgabat.
During the negotiations, the parties discussed the current state of interaction and exchanged views on the prospects of bilateral cooperation, taking into account the existing significant potential.
As previously reported, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdymukhamedov and Chairman of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping signed agreements on interstate cooperation, particularly in the fields of economy and energy, following their negotiations in Beijing in January this year. In addition, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the gas sector was signed between the Turkmengaz State Concern and CNPC. CNPC also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Yagshygeldi Kakayev International University of Oil and Gas.
As previously reported, the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline, which was commissioned in December 2009 through its three strands (A, B, and C), delivers approximately 40 bcm of Turkmen natural gas per year.
The construction of the fourth line (D) of this gas pipeline has been under discussion for several years. Its capacity will be 30 bcm of gas per year.
According to the Energy Institute's review, in 2022, Turkmenistan exported 40.7 bcm of natural gas via pipelines (a 3.3-percent decrease year-on-year), including 32.9 bcm delivered to China (a 4.4-percent increase).