(Xinhuanet.com) – The Commencement Ceremony of Uzbekistan section of Central Asian Gas Pipeline Line C was held at Gazli, 110 km away from Bukhara, on Dec. 15, 2011. This is another milestone deepening energy cooperation between Uzbekistan and China.

The unveiling ceremony for the construction of the Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline on July 9, 2008, in Kazakhstan’s Almaty region.
Line C of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline covers a distance of 529 km in Uzbekistan and plays an important role in diversifying Uzbekistan’s gas export. Running 1,840km in parallel with Line A and B which have already become operational, Line C is designed to deliver 25 billion m³ of natural gas annually from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China. It is estimated to start gas supply from January 2014, and reach the designed deliverability in December 2015, enhancing the total transmission capacity of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline to 55 billion m³/year.

Central Asian Gas Pipeline is China’s first strategic onshore pipeline for introducing foreign natural gas resources. Line C will be placed in parallel with Line A and Line B that have been built and put into operation, to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It is of significant importance to Uzbekistan for its diversification of natural gas export.

Line C is 1,840 km long in total, of which 529 km falls within the territory of Uzbekistan, giving it a designed gas transmission capacity of 25 billion m³/ year. As Trans-Asia Gas Pipeline Company Limited scheduled, Line C is expected to supply gas from January 2014, by when the entire pipeline will have an annual gas transmission capacity of above 55 billion m³.

CNPC Exploration and Development Company Ltd. (CNPC E&D) is responsible for building the pipeline expected to pump the natural gas China purchased from Central Asia. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has planned to invest 16 billion yuan ($2.16 billion) to fund its construction. PetroChina and China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation (CNODC) – both CNPC subsidiaries, and each with 50% of CNPC E&D – would supply 8 billion yuan in cash, respectively. CNPC E&D cooperates with two state-owned development companies in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to build the pipeline.