Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan significantly reduced the volume of natural gas supplies to China in value terms from January to May, Azernews reports, citing AKIpress.
The export of Uzbek gas to China decreased by 60.71% and amounted to $118.63 million. The export of Kazakh gas decreased by 25.4% to $300.13 million, TASS reports with reference to the Main Customs Administration of China.
The physical volume of deliveries is not specified.
The export of gas from Turkmenistan increased by about 13.5% and amounted to $4.25 billion. This republic ranks first in pipeline gas supplies to China.
Turkmenistan supplied gas to China for $10.25 billion (an increase of 51%) in 2022, Kazakhstan for $1.08 billion (a decrease of 4%), Uzbekistan for $1.07 billion (an increase of 33.9%).
Uzbekistan has significantly reduced sales of natural gas abroad in recent years due to growing demand in the domestic market. The country increases gas imports.
Kazakhstan is also reducing exports for a similar reason. According to Nurlan Zhumagulov, an expert on oil and gas projects, the growth in domestic demand is due to the increase in the gasification coverage of the regions of Kazakhstan and the fact that many large industrial enterprises, such as Arcelor Mittal, have preferred gas to coal.
Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Bolat Akchulakov said last spring that gas consumption in the country is growing by 7% annually and Kazakhstan will begin to experience its shortage by 2025.
Source: azernews