Turkmenistan-China Pipeline on Target for 2009

Turkmenistan will finish building its segment of a natural gas pipeline to China by the end of 2009, according to the state-owned entity, Turkmengaz.

The announcement followed a meeting between Turkmen officials and a Chinese delegation headed by the vice president of China National Petroleum Corporation, Wang Dongjin, in Ashgabat, the Turkmen state news agency reported March 29.

The Turkmen portion of the pipeline runs 188 kilometers. In all, the export route will cross Uzbek and Kazakh territory before crossing into China. Turkmenistan has pledged to deliver 30 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually for 30 years. The pipeline is expected to be fully operational by 2011.

More than 1,200 kilometers of the pipe has already been laid in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the report adds. The Turkmen-China project also represents an opportunity for Ashgabat to diversify gas exports away from Russia which currently buys more than 70 percent of Turkmenistan's gas.