Kazakhstan wants to get share in Russian-Sino gas pipeline
According to Arman Kasenov, deputy head of QazaqGaz, Kazakhstan hopes to get a share in the transit gas pipeline that Russia and China plan to build via Kazakhstan.
«We have a good example of the Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline. These are two highly effective models: the Asian Gas Pipeline and the Beyneu-Bozoy-Shymkent gas pipeline. Kazakhstan has a 50% share in both pipelines. (Chinese CNPS controls the other 50% share in the companies). These two projects generate $701 million of profit for our country,» the official said.
However, no details of the project have been released yet, although Russia and China have both shown interest in the project.
«I don’t know the details. Probably, there will be two or three stakeholders. But what do we talk about? If someone is going to use our territory, they have to let us be a part of the deal. The key question is who is going to pay. Let’s say Russia’s stake will be covered by gas and investments. The Chinese can say that they are going to buy everything under an off-take contract. What about Kazakhstan? This is our territory, so we must be a stakeholder as well,» Kasenov stated.
The capacity of the potential transit gas pipeline from Russia to China might be about 40 billion cubic meters of gas. About 10 billion cubic meters of gas can be supplied to Kazakhstani consumers in the North-East part of the country. The official said that this is a good opportunity for Russian Gazprom to redirect its gas from Europe to China.
«We know that Russians have plenty of gas now, so that is why they always talk about a “gas union» and so on. But for us this is not about establishing a new company. It is about utilizing our transit capabilities,” Kasenov highlighted.
