China, Kazakhstan sign accords for gas, uranium
Eric Watkins
OGJ Oil Diplomacy Editor
LOS ANGELES, June 18 -- Chinese President Hu Jintao and Kazakhstan’s leader Nursultan Nazarbayev have presided over several agreements under which their countries will jointly construct a natural gas pipeline and strengthen cooperation on nuclear energy.
Under one agreement, Kazakhstan's state-owned KazMunaiGas and China National Petroleum Corp. will jointly finance and construct a 1,400-km gas pipeline across Kazakhstan.
The $3.5 billion Beyneu-Shymkent line will join the 1,800-km China-Central Asia gas line that opened in December 2009 and links gas fields in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan to northwest China's Xinjiang region.
The main China-Central Asia line eventually will have the capacity to deliver 40 billion cu m (bcm)/year of gas when it is completed in 2013 or 2014, while the new Kazakh pipeline will ultimately have a capacity of 15 bcm/year.
According to KazMunaiGas Pres. Kairgeldy Kabyldin, the first stage of the new line will be completed in early 2014, and will transport 10 bcm/year of gas.
Kabyldin said the line will enable Kazakhstan to provide energy security for its own southern regions, an area that now relies heavily on gas imported from neighboring Uzbekistan.
Uranium accord
In addition to the gas line accord, Kazakhstan also said it would increase shipments of uranium to China after its state-owned nuclear company Kazatomprom agreed to a supply contract during Hu’s visit.
Under the contract, Kazatomprom will supply uranium to China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp. (CGNPC), which operates more than 40% of China's nuclear power generating capacity. Details of the amounts and prices were not revealed.
In April 2009, CGNPC said that it would jointly develop with Kazatomprom a uranium deposit in Kazakhstan with reserves of 40,000 tons. Altogether, reports indicate that China plans to import 24,200 tons of Kazakh uranium during 2008-12.
The two Asian neighbors also signed a third agreement which will allow for unspecified cooperation between them on “the peaceful development of nuclear energy.”
Earlier this month, Hu and Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov signed a number of agreements regarding the purchase of energy from Uzbekistan, including uranium and natural gas (OGJ Online, June 16, 2010).
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].