Image Credits - CNPC-AktobeMunaiGas
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) declared that it will speed up the construction of the D branch of the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China. The size of the fourth gas pipeline line will be 30 billion cubic meters of blue fuel/year. The pipeline starts from the Galkynysh Gas Field and will advance to China through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
As per a CNPC report, in 2022, 42 billion cubic meters of natural gas were supplied to China via existing gas pipeline branches. However, China incurred import losses hence it has accelerated the construction of Line D.
Since its inception in 2009 up till the end of 2022, the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline transported approximately 423 billion cubic meters of natural gas, which offered energy to approximately 500 million residents in 27 regions of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regions (SARs).
The president of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to prioritize the construction of Line D of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline during discussions in Beijing. Pricing and technical issues have slowed down the project however now the CNPC is gearing up towards the completion of the project. After the completion of the project, it is estimated to cover 20% of China’s demand for fuel. Central Asian pipelines are well-thought-out investments in China’s energy space.
Meanwhile, Russia is also urging the communist major to accelerate the construction of its Siberian gas line 2 to make up for the loss of European sales due to sanctions issued against it during the Ukrainian war.