OREANDA-NEWS. December 15, 2009. Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov and the head of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Jiang Jiemin discussed several issues of bilateral cooperation in the energy industry at the meeting in Astana.

The start of construction of 2nd stage Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline (Beineu-Bozoy) in 2010, joint realization of investment and infrastructure projects in the sphere of energy were discussed, the press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan informed.

“Karim Massimov generally approved the Chinese corporation’s initiatives and was interested in Kazakhstan's future projects, equally responsive to the needs and benefits of the two countries,” the report states.

Karim Massimov’s meeting with Jiang Zemin held in the framework of President Hu Jintao’s working visit to Kazakhstan on December 12-13.

President of Kazakhstan signed the law "On ratification of Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the People's Republic of China on cooperation in the construction and operation of Kazakhstan - China gas pipeline” at the beginning of this week.

The agreement was signed on August 18, 2007 in Astana.

To develop long-term cooperation on transportation of Turkmen and Kazakh natural gas production from new gas transmission capacities in the territory of Kazakhstan and China is the main purpose of the document.

Total length of pipeline from Turkmenistan to China via Kazakhstan will include 550-km area in Uzbekistan, over 1300 km of pipes in Kazakhstan, about 200 kilometers in Turkmenistan and about 8 thousand kilometers in China.

The total cost of the project to be around USD  20 billion.

The pipeline in Kazakhstan will consist of two parts: the first - the throughput capacity of 40 billion cubic meters of gas annually from the border of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the border of Kazakhstan and China, the second - the throughput capacity of 10 billion cubic meters a year on a route Beineu-Bozoy-Kyzylorda-Shymkent (from the west to the south of Kazakhstan).

Kazakhstan plans to complete the construction in June 2010.

“KazStroyService” company was defined as the contractor of the project from Kazakh side and CPPE (China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering) from Chinese side.

For the construction of the pipeline in February last year, the Kazakh state company for “KazTransGaz” gas transportation (consisting of “KazMunaiGaz” national company) and Trans-Asia Gas Pipeline Company Limited established “Asian gas pipeline” LLP. The companies are based in Almaty.

CNODC (“daughter” of the Chinese CNPC) and PetroChina are the shareholders of Trans-Asia Gas Pipeline.

On December, 14  the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan will be put into operation in the presence of heads-participants of the project.