China Says at What Price It Imports Gas from Central Asia

Turkmenistan retains the position of the largest supplier of pipeline gas to China. This was reported by the General Administration of Customs of China.

The report notes that Turkmenistan is the largest supplier by the volume of pipeline natural gas sold in the Chinese market. In 2019, the state concern Turkmengaz delivered 31.2 bcm of gas to China, and in April 2020, the supply level was 69 million cubic meters per day.

If we analyze the data of the General Administration for Customs in China, then the cheapest gas in the PRC market in the second quarter of 2020 was Russian gas.

Gazprom began supplying gas to China through the Power of Siberia gas pipeline in 2019, which is 10 years after the start of Turkmengaz deliveries.

In the second quarter, the price of Russian fuel decreased by 10% compared with the first quarter – to 183 US dollars per thousand cubic meters. 

The price changes quarterly, the contract is tied to the cost of fuel oil and gas oil with a nine-month lag. For comparison: the cost of deliveries from Turkmenistan in April was 227 US dollars, Uzbekistan – 212 US dollars, Kazakhstan – 194 US dollars per 1 thousand cubic meters.