China Publishes H1 Central Asian Gas Imports
China imported 23bn m3 of natural gas from Central Asia during the first half of 2019, transmission operator PetroChina West Pipeline announced on August 4.
Since the launch the first branch of the Central Asia Gas Pipeline (CAGP) in 2009, China has imported 277.4bn m3 of gas from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Now comprising three strings, CACP is capable of flowing 55bn m3/year of gas.
Total Chinese gas imports reached 121.4bn m3 in 2018, up 32% yr/yr, according to BP's 2019 Statistical Review of World Energy. This volume included 73.5bn m3 of LNG, up 39.7%, and 47.9bn m3 of piped supplies, up 21.6%. Piped volumes included 33.3bn m3 of Turkmen, 5.4bn m3 of Kazakh and 6.3bn m3 of Uzbek gas as well as 2.9bn m3 of gas from Myanmar.
China plans to import 65bn m3/yr gas from Turkmenistan by 2021, depending on whether CAGP's fourth 25bn m3/yr branch, known as Line D, is ready. Construction of Line D has faced repeated delays, however, with the timing of its launch uncertain. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan also have agreements in place to eventually supply 10bn m3/year of gas each to China.