China's hopes for Central Asian gas supply face hurdles [Gas in Transition]

China's hopes for Central Asian gas supply face hurdles [Gas in Transition]

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Natural Gas News
China's hopes for Central Asian gas supply face hurdles [Gas in Transition]

Summary

Gas supplies through the Central Asia-China Pipeline continue to fall short of capacity, and even if a long-delayed expansion project gets off the ground, it's unlikely to reach its designed capacity. by: Andrew Kemp

While China's natural gas supply has stabilised in recent years, with the country having successfully avoided chronic seasonal shortfalls since winter 2021-22, long-term challenges to its energy aspirations persist. Central planners may have increased the country's supply flexibility by investing in LNG import capacity, Russian piped gas deliveries and the domestic upstream. However, ongoing efforts to strengthen Central Asian imports have failed to gain much traction. Central Asian gas flows are crucial to offset China's growing reliance on Russian supplies and maritime shipments through the Strait of Malacca choke point. Beijing's wariness over the strait's strategic weakness has inspired multi-billion dollar investments in gas pipelines from Central Asia, Russia and Myanmar. Diversity has been the watchword for mitigating China's import risks....