Kazakhstan to boost gas exports to China this year

QazaqGaz, the national gas operator and a subsidiary of Samruk-Kazyna, has negotiated with PetroChina to expand gas exports to China this year, the company said in a statement.

A three-year gas purchase and sale agreement was signed by QazaqGaz CEO Sanzhar Zharkeshov and PetroChina International Executive Chair Wu Junli during a Kazakhstan-China business summit in Astana.

«The agreement will allow us to boost gas exports to China this year, proving the strategic nature of the partnership between Kazakhstan and the PRC in the energy sector. Kazakhstan’s gas industry is a reliable supplier of resources necessary for enhancing energy security in the region,» the statement read.

While the statement did not specify a timeline for the planned exports, Kazakhstan already has an agreement to supply gas to China from 2023 to 2026, signed in October 2023 in Beijing. Kazakhstan supplies about 4 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually, while domestic gas consumption is approximately 21 billion cubic meters.

In October 2024, Zharkeshov told Bloomberg that Kazakhstan was negotiating with China for a potential expansion of gas exports and considering the construction of an additional pipeline to increase supplies.

At the time, the QazaqGaz CEO emphasized that increasing gas exports could help Kazakhstan offset below-market domestic prices, as the government subsidizes all gas prices within the country.

In June 2024, QazaqGaz signed a long-term agreement with Russia’s Gazprom to facilitate the transit of Russian gas to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan through Kazakhstan. The country also supports the transit of Turkmen and Uzbek gas to China. From January to August 2024, Kazakhstan supplied 2.3 billion cubic meters of gas to China, valued at $575.7 million.