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Central Asian oil flows to China

Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Thursday launched the first oil pipeline from Central Asia to China. A 988-km pipeline built from Kazakhstan's oil terminal in Atasu to the Chinese railway station in Alashankou in a record nine months will be able to carry 10 million tonnes a year at the first stage, and up to 20 million tonnes at the second stage. Kazakhstan hopes to begin first deliveries of oil in 2008. The pipeline will initially carry oil from the Kumkol field in central Kazakhstan, which the Chinese National Petroleum Company acquired earlier this year. By 2011, when it reaches full capacity, the pipeline is expected to ship also oil from Russia's western Siberia. The new pipeline is Kazakhstan's first oil export route that bypasses Russia. Until Kazakh oil has been exported to Europe via a pipeline operated by the international Caspian Pipeline Consortium. "This is the first export pipeline to the east," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted President of Kazakhstan's state oil company as saying at the inauguration ceremony. "We mark this event as the transition to a new stage in relations between Kazakhstan and China in the oil and gas industry."

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