Kazakhstan offers Russia gas pipeline access to China

Beineu-Bozoi-Shymkent gas pipeline, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan offers Russia gas pipeline access to China:  Astana has offered Moscow the option of using its existing pipeline network to supply China with gas, the chairman of the Kazakh state-owned oil and gas company KazMunayGas Sauat Mynbayev told Kommersant today. According to Munbayev, it will soon be possible for Gazprom to transport gas via the Bukhara-Ural and Bozoi-Shymkent pipelines (that it already uses to supply Kazakhstan’s southern regions) to the Central Asia-China pipeline that runs through Turkmenistan to China. 
 There is not currently enough pressure in the Bozoi-Shymkent pipeline to make the connection with the Central Asia-China pipeline possible, but Kazakhstan now intends to boost its  capacity from 2.5bn m³ to 10bn m³ by installing three new compressor stations.
Russia is currently trying to work out the most cost-effective way of providing China with the gas it is now committed to delivering, with the two principle options being the Power of Siberia and Altai pipelines. Astana’s offer now puts another alternative in the mix.