Kyrgyzstan Considers Joining Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline

Natural Gas Asia, citing a recent Reuters report, says that Kyrgyzstan is seeking to join a natural gas pipeline network linking Central Asia with China in order to reduce its reliance on immediate neighbours for energy, and to profit from transit fees.

Reuters has said that the Central Asian nation has agreed with Beijing to discuss the country's inclusion in the 2,000-km pipeline network, launched in 2009, which pumps Turkmen gas to China through the former Soviet states of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The pipeline is projected to transport up to 9 bcm of natural gas this year and CNPC has announced that it plans to increase the pipeline's annual capacity to 60 bcm, according to Natural Gas Europe.

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