Turkmenistan remains China's largest pipeline gas supplier, with 2.9bn cubic meters of gas delivered in March, compared to 2.4bn in February and 2.2bn in January.
China's General Administration of Customs reports that pipeline shipments accounted for 47% of Chinese imports in March.
The second largest pipeline gas supplier to China is Russia, which supplied 1.8bn cubic meters of gas in the reporting period. Kazakhstan exported 380mn cubic meters in March, while Uzbekistan - 140mn.
China receives Turkmen gas from three fields - Bagtyyarlyk (CNPC operates it under a production sharing agreement), Malay, and Galkynysh (controlled by Turkmengaz).
Deliveries have been made since December 2009, following the commissioning of a pipeline built by the Chinese side and passing through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. As of December 2022, some 350 billion cubic metres had been supplied from Turkmenistan to China.
Negotiations are underway to build a fourth pipeline branch through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. With the new project, annual gas supplies from Turkmenistan could be increased to 65bn cubic meters annually from the current 30-40bn.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
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