Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

The volume of Central Asian gas supplies to China through the Central Asia - China pipeline has reached 9.43 million tons, the customs service of Horgos (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Northwest China) said.

According to the customs data, 9 million tons of gas, or about 96 percent of total supply volumes accounted for Turkmenistan, and the remaining part, or approximately 4 percent was delivered to Chinese markets from the Uzbek fields.

The supply of Central Asian gas to China through the pipeline, which takes its beginning from the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan runs to China through the central part of Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan, started in late 2009.

The Central Asia–China gas pipeline is the first pipeline to bring Central Asian natural gas to China and highlights China's quest for Central Asian energy exports.

Being a major energy producer, Turkmenistan plays a crucial role in this pipeline. China, the world's major energy consumer, is one of the key buyers of Turkmen gas.

China intends to increase its annual purchases up to 65 billion cubic meters of gas. Turkmenistan, enjoying huge gas reserves after Russia, Iran, and Qatar, is able to meet China's energy demands. Thus, the two countries enjoy a natural advantage and huge capacities in energy cooperation.

In this regard, the Central Asia-China pipeline, which fosters economic cooperation between China and Central Asian countries, is expected to be a source of prosperity for the region, promoting development and investment in local natural gas resources, stimulating the growth of local equipment manufacturing and construction industries, as well as create employment opportunities.

Chinese experts believe that the inflow of Central Asian gas will significantly help China in meeting its energy demands and improve the nation's energy consumption. Also, the project will help the Central Asian countries diversify their energy exports, and promote socio-economic development in the region.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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