China buys more natural gas from Turkmenistan

Beijing will import 44 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan during the second-half of 2012.

The amount is 47% more than the 30 billion cubic meters imported by China from early 2010 to July 1, 2012. Chinese imports of Turkmen natural gas annually will eventually reach 65 billion cubic meters.

The total is provided for in framework agreement on cooperation to transport an additional amount of natural gas from Turkmenistan to China signed between the state concern Turkmengaz and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) this June.

China and Turkmenistan met recently during inter-governmental talks in Beijing to discuss the further expansion of their cooperation in the fuel-energy sector.

The Turkmen representatives said there are huge prospects in energy cooperation given China's growing need for the a stable supply of natural gas from Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan is China's major gas supplier in Central Asia. A pipeline through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan commissioned in December 2009 was China's first energy corridor designed to import foreign natural gas. It was built by CNPC.

The design capacity of the Central-Asian gas pipeline is 30 billion cubic meters. This allowed Turkmenistan to expand its sales markets limited by the supplies to Russia and Iran.

Tuekmenistan holds the world’s fourth largest natural gas reserves. It is estimated that Turkmenistan produced 59.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2011 and used 25 billion cubic meters for internal consumption.