China started importing gas from Uzbekistan via pipeline last month, adding to significant volumes it already receives from Turkmenistan, customs data released Saturday showed.
China imported 1,441 mt equivalent (70,197 Mcf) of pipeline gas from Uzbekistan in August, valued at $687,095, the data showed. This would translate to a price of about $9.17/MMBtu, versus $10.22/MMBtu for Turkmen gas during the same month.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov had said in a statement on September 12 that the country had started exporting gas to China via pipeline in August. In June 2010, Tashkent and Beijing signed a framework agreement, under which state-owned oil and gas producer Uzbekneftegaz was to supply 10 Bcm/year of natural gas to China National Petroleum Corp.
The gas is sent via the Central Asia-China gas pipeline network, which starts in Turkmenistan and cuts through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan before ending in China's western Xinjiang province.
China's total Turkmen gas imports in August stood at 1.28 million mt, or an average of 2 Bcf/day, up 52.7% year on year. This brings China's total pipeline imports for the month to 2.02 Bcf/day, up 54.2% year on year.
Separately, CNPC said in a report on its website on Monday that China has received a cumulative 36 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan since the pipeline started operating in 2010.
