The Kazakhstan–China oil pipeline is China's first direct oil import pipeline allowing oil import from Central Asia. It runs from

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

's Caspian shore to

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

in China. The pipeline is owned by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the Kazakh oil company KazMunayGas.

History

The construction of pipeline was agreed between China and Kazakhstan in 1997. The first section of pipeline from the

Aktobe Aktobe ( kz, Ақтөбе, Aqtöbe; russian: Актобе, Aktobe) is a city on the Ilek River in Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of Aktobe Region. In 2020, it had a population of 500,757 people. Aktobe is located in the west of K ...

region's oil fields to the Atyrau was completed in 2003. The construction of pipeline from to Alashankou started in September 2004 and was completed in December 2005. The construction of Kenkiyak–Kumkol section was agreed between Kazakhstan and China on 18 August 2007. This section was completed on 11 July 2009. The pipeline was developed by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the Kazakh oil company KazMunayGas. Currently capacity is at 14 million tons per year. The pipeline is expected to reach nominal capacity of 20 million tons per year in 2014.

Technical description

The long pipeline runs from Atyrau in

Alashankou Alashankou is a border city in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is a port of entry by both railroad and highway from Kazakhstan as part of the Eurasian Land Bridge. Overview The city is named a ...

in China's Xinjiang. The Kenkiyak-Atyrau section of the pipeline is long and has a capacity of . Capacity of the pipeline maybe upgraded to in the future. The pipeline was built and is operated by MunaiTas a joint venture between CNPC and KazMunayGas. The Atasu-Alashankou section of the pipeline cost US$700 million. It is long and has a capacity of . Capacity of this section might be upgraded to by 2011. The pipeline includes an oil metering station at the

Alataw Pass The Dzungarian Gate (or Altai Gap or Altay Gap) is a geographically and historically significant mountain pass between China and Central Asia. It has been described as the "one and only gateway in the mountain-wall which stretches from Manchuria ...

. The pipeline was built and is operated by a joint venture between CNODC and KazTrans Oil JSC. The first oil through this pipeline reached the refinery in August 2006. The Kenkiyak-Kumkol section is long. It has initial transportation capacity of 10 million tons per year. This section has reached its full capacity in 2011.

Alashankou–Dushanzi Crude Oil Pipeline

In Alashankou, the pipeline is connected with the Alashankou–Dushanzi Crude Oil Pipeline, which is a long pipeline connecting the Kazakhstan–China oil pipeline with Dushanzi District. The capacity of pipeline is 10 million tons of oil per year and it supplies mainly the Dushanzi refinery. The pipeline became operational on 21 December 2005 and the first oil through this pipeline reached to the refinery on 29 July 2006. The pipeline is constructed and operated by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Oil supplies

The Kazakhstan–China oil pipeline is supplied from the Aktobe region's fields and from the Kumkol oil field. In the future, the main supply source will be

Kashagan field Kashagan Field ( kk, Қашаған кен орны, ''Qashaǵan ken orny'') is an offshore oil field in Kazakhstan's zone of the Caspian Sea. The field, discovered in 2000, is located in the northern part of the Caspian Sea close to Atyrau and ...

. The pipeline is used also for the transportation of oil from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

's western

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

by connection with the Omsk (Russia)–

Pavlodar Pavlodar ( ; ) is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Region. It is located 450 km northeast of the national capital Astana and 405 km southeast of the Russian city of Omsk along the Irtysh River. , the cit ...

(Kazakhstan)–

Shymkent Shymkent (; Шымкент, Şymkent), known until 1993 as Chimkent ( uz, Çımkent, چىمكېنت; Yañalif: Çimkent ()); russian: Чимкент, translit=Chimkent (), is a city in Kazakhstan. It is near the border with Uzbekistan. It is one ...

–

Türkmenabat Türkmenabat ( tk, Türkmenabat, Түркменабат), formerly and since medieval times Chardzhou, (russian: Чарджоу, ''Chardzhou''; tk, Çärjew, links=no, ) ( fa, چهارجوی 'čahârjuy', meaning 'four brooks') and in ancient ti ...

(

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

) pipeline in Atasu oil terminal. Oil is transported through this pipeline by Russian companies

TNK-BP TNK-BP (Tyumenskaya Neftyanaya Kompaniya, Tyumen Oil Company) was a major vertically integrated Russian oil company headquartered in Moscow. It was Russia's third-largest oil producer and among the ten largest private oil companies in the world. ...

and

Gazprom Neft Gazprom Neft (russian: Газпром Нефть; formerly Sibneft, russian: Сибнефть, link=no), is the third largest oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about ...

References

External links

*Chow, Edward, "Central Asia’s Pipelines: Field of Dreams and Reality," i
Pipeline Politics in Asia: The Intersection of Demand, Energy Markets, and Supply Routes
(

National Bureau of Asian Research The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) is an American non-profit, research institution based in Seattle, Washington, with a branch office in Washington, D.C. NBR brings together specialists, policymakers, and business leaders to examine ...