Turkmen gas to help China avoid the energy crisis
The growth of imports of natural gas produced at the Amu Darya deposits in Turkmenistan will ensure the stability of gas supply to the residential sector in China's cities and will help to cope with the fuel shortage in winter season, the People's Daily Online reports. According to statistics as of 17 December, intensive gas production at 101 wells and overdrive performance of two gas processing stations operated by CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation) have allowed to increase the export of Turkmen gas by 5 million, reaching 39 million cu m per day. This volume not only covers a third of gas consumption in Beijing, but also substitutes 63 thousand tons of coal per day, thus lowering air pollution. Next year, the Corporation intends to increase the daily volume of supplies from Turkmenistan to 40 million cu m per day through commissioning of six wells. The transition of millions of households in China from coal to environment-friendly natural gas has caused a surge in the demand and import of this fuel. And, it seems that in the foreseeable future progressive trend will continue due to the commissioning of new pipelines and Liquefied Natural Gas terminals. According to the General administration of Customs of PRC, in January-November 2017, gas imports in China hit record levels, increasing by 26.5% as compared with the same period of 2016.
