ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, April 16. The annual volume of Turkmen natural gas transiting to China via Kazakhstan is approximately 35 billion cubic meters, Alibek Zhamauov, Chairman of the Board of JSC QazaqGaz, told reporters, Trend's special correspondent reports
He made the remark during an international scientific and practical conference titled “Turkmenistan - People's Republic of China: 20 Years of Strategic Cooperation in the Gas Sector.”
The head of the national company highlighted the strategic role of the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China (TUK) gas pipeline. According to him, in addition to Turkmen gas, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan each supply an additional 5 billion cubic meters of gas annually via this route.
“Today, we export about 5 billion cubic meters of gas. Of course, we would like to increase export volumes, but specific figures for potential growth have not yet been determined, as the market situation changes daily,” Alibek Zhamauov emphasized.
Regarding cooperation with Azerbaijan, the chairman of the board of QazaqGaz noted the successful experience in the oil sector.
“We export approximately 1.5 million tons of oil via the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, where it is then fed into the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline. We would be happy to cooperate with Azerbaijan in the gas sector as well,” he explained.