OREANDA-NEWS. On 18 August 2009 the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) had announced that the Turkmen and Uzbek parts of the Turkmenistan - China pipeline, which is currently under construction, were connected. According to CNPC, parts of the pipeline were connected at the border of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The gas main runs through the territory of four states: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China. The total length of the pipeline route exceeds 7000 km. There will be laid 188 km of the pipeline in the territory of Turkmenistan, 530 km in Uzbekistan, 1300 km in Kazakhstan and over 4500 km in China.

It is expected that the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline will be commissioned in late 2009 and, in accordance with previous agreements, Turkmenistan will supply up to 40 billion cubic meters of gas annually to China for over 30 years.

At the initial stage, Turkmenistan will ensure the supply of 13 billion cubic meters of gas by constructing gas treating and preparing facilities at Samandepe and Altyn Asyr fields. The remaining volumes of gas will come from new gas fields.

The Chinese National Petroleum Corporation has already received a package of documents guaranteeing the right to exploration and extraction of gas on Bagtyyarlyk contractual territory on the right bank of Amu Darya river.