Uzbekistan commissions phase two of Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline section
TASHKENT. Dec 27 (Interfax) - The second strand of Uzbekistan's section of the Turkmenistan - China gas pipeline went into service in December, Chinese Ambassador to Uzbekistan Yu Hongjun told reporters on Saturday.
The Chinese embassy in Uzbekistan says the second phase of the pipeline section was completed in October, when tests began.
The pipeline currently carries gas from Turkmenistan. It is expected to transport 4 bcm by the end of 2010, rising to 15 bcm in 2011.
The first strand of the 7,000-km Turkmenistan - China pipeline, which is 1,067 mm in diameter and capable of carrying 40 bcm of gas per year, went into operation in December 2009.
Uzbekistan is the FSU's second biggest gas producer and one of the world's ten biggest with annual output of around 60 bcm. Natural gas production fell 2.9% year-on-year in January-September 2010 to 45.113 billion cubic meters, the Uzbek State Statistics Committee has said.