Kazakhstan May Expand Gas Transits to China
Kazakhstan is ready to study carefully the issue of extending contracts with Chinese companies in the energy sector, Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev said June 8, noting that in less than a decade his country has transited over 180bn m3 of gas to China.
“Over 100mn metric tons of oil and over 180bn m3 of gas have been delivered to China via Kazakhstan over the years of joint work. We now carry out, as agreed, the transfer of 51 enterprises to Kazakhstan. Three are already working and we continue our work on six,” he said.
“The main point is that we decided on the issue of energy cooperation: 25% of the oil produced in Kazakhstan is produced by Chinese companies. Now they are raising the issue of extending contracts and we will look very closely at that, because they are good partners in our joint work,” Nazarbayev said during talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping in the Kazakh capital Astana June 8.
“Exemplary intergovernmental relations” have developed between Kazakhstan and China, added Nazarbayev.
Deliveries of Turkmen gas through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China began in December 2009.
In 2016, Turkmenistan delivered 29.64bn m3, Uzbekistan 4.34bn m3 and Kazakhstan 430mn m3 to China.
Azerbaijan Desk