Turkmenistan No. 1 Supplier of Gas to China--But Revenues Down

The volume of China's gas imports in January-November 2015 increased by 13.8% compared to last year, to 50.15 million tons in volume. At the same time, the value decreased by 15.3% to $22.29 billion, official Chinese customs statistics indicate.

Turkmenistan is shown to be the leading provider of the natural and other gases China imports, at a rate of 17.985 million tons during 11 months, an increase of 6.7% on last year. However, the revenues received by Turkmenistan for gas export to China decreased by 18% to $6.97 billion. The average cost of a ton of gas in the reporting period decreased by $116.8 to $387.8. The share of Turkmen gas to Chinese imports in the first 11 months amounted to 35.8%.

During the reporting period, Uzbekistan also exported 1.134 million tons of gas to China. The volume of shipments declined compared to the same period in the last year by 49.6%. The value of China's imports of Uzbek gas also decreased by 29.2% to $371.97 million. The average cost of a ton in the reporting period decreased by $119.74 to $327.98.

In the period of January-November, Kazakhstan has exported 358.5 million tons of gas to China. Thus, the volume of shipments decreased compared to the same period in the last year by 6.5%. The value of China's imports of Kazakh gas also decreased by 31.2% to $371.97 million. The average cost of a ton in the reporting period decreased by $85.25 to $237.41.

198.32 tons of gas also were shipped from the Russian Federation to China during the reporting period, which is 51.2% more than in January-November of the last year. The value of Russian exported gas to China increased by 27.8% to $111.27 million. The average cost of a ton decreased by $104.5 to $561.07.