Kazakhstan and China extended gas export contract
JSC National Company QazaqGaz, which is the main gas company in Kazakhstan, signed a new gas export contract with the Chinese oil and gas company PetroChina. The agreement is valid for 2023-2026.
According to the extended document, up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year can be supplied from Kazakhstan to the Celestial Empire.
“Currently, QazaqGaz has an export contract for the supply of Kazakh gas to China. Previously, volumes were determined with the possibility of supplying up to 10 billion cubic meters per year,” Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Almasadam Satkaliev said.
Recoverable reserves of blue fuel in Kazakhstan are estimated at 3.8 trillion cubic meters. Its main volume is concentrated in four large fields - Karachaganak, Tengiz, Kashagan and Zhanazhol.
According to the forecast of the QazaqGaz company, by 2030 the volume of gas consumption in Kazakhstan will increase to 40 billion cubic meters. Last year, gas consumption in the country amounted to 21 billion cubic meters, and its exports amounted to 5 billion cubic meters.
It would seem that Kazakhstan can increase production within the country. But all major oil and gas projects in the republic are being developed within the framework of a production sharing agreement (PSA) and the authorities cannot influence foreign companies. It is not profitable for the West to supply blue fuel to consumers within Kazakhstan due to its fixed price on the domestic market. It seems more profitable to sell oil that was produced by injecting gas into the reservoir on the international market.
QazaqGaz, which is a portfolio company of the Samruk-Kazyna state fund, operates gas pipelines with a total length of about 76 thousand km, including 20 thousand km of main gas pipelines with an annual throughput capacity of up to 267.8 billion cubic meters.
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