China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)

Contact Information
9 Dongzhimen North Street,
Dongcheng District,
Beijing,
P.R. China, 100007
T: +86 10 6209 4114
F: +86 10 6209 4205
E-mail: admin_eng@nullcnpc.com.cn

Turkmenistan
T: +993 1239 4429
F: +993 1248 8716
cnpcoffice_tm@nullcnpc.com.cn

History in Turkmenistan
In 2002, CNPC and the Turkmenneft State Concern signed an EOR contract for the Gumdak Oilfield in western Turkmenistan. Under the contract, CNPC had a 100% stake in the project for a five-year period, during which time production was increased, as a result of geological research and appraisals conducted by the company.[ii]

In 2007, CNPC signed a Production Sharing Agreement with the Turkmen State Agency for Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources to explore and develop gas fields on the right bank of the Amu Darya River. At the same time, CNPC signed a natural gas sale-and-purchase agreement with Turkmengaz. Under these agreements, Turkmenistan is obligated to export an annual 3bln cubic meters of gas to China for 30 years. In 2009, CNPC opened the No.1 Gas Processing Plant as part of the Amu Darya project.[iii] In September 2010, CNPC reported the discovery of a major gas field in Block B of the Amu Darya project.[iv]

CNPC has also offered to do a feasibility study for a proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan-China pipeline and began assessing conditions in Afghanistan in summer 2012.[v] Additionally, in December 2009, it was reported that CNPC was one of the companies that had won a prized gas services contract to develop the South Yolotan Field.[vi] However, as of this printing, CNPC has not provided any information about this contract on its website.

Current Scope of Operations
In July 2008, Turkmenistan and China launched the construction of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline, which traverses 1,833 km from the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan border, through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and ending in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region. From there, it is connected to the Second West-East Gas Pipeline. CNPC constructed the pipeline, and provided “financing and technical know-how for the gas processing and purification facilities, pumping and compression stations and boosters.”[vii] The primary line (line A) became operational in December 2009, as scheduled. This was followed by lines B (2010) and C (2014), reaching an annual capacity of 55bcm. Efforts to extend the pipeline by a fourth branch (line D) are currently underway after the pipeline reached near 100% capacity in 2019.[viii]

In June of 2021, CNPC’s subsidiary, China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC), began work on a new program within the Western sections of the Bagtyyarlyk contract area, operated by CNPC. The 24-month long program includes the commissioning of six fields, Gadyn, North Gadyn, Iljik, East Iljik, Kishtuvan, and West Kishtuvan. In total, CPECC is set to construct 22 new wells, 4 gas gathering stations, several pipelines, as well as provide engineering and technical support networks, such as electricity and water supply systems, and other industrial infrastructure. Estimates put the total output of the facilities at 1.815bcm annually, with most of the gas making its way to China via the Central Asia-China gas pipeline. The subsidiary is also reportedly active on the eastern side of the contract area, constructing onshore facilities at the West Joramergen, Gokmiyar, and Dashrabat fields.[ix] Additionally, a report by Reuters[x] indicates that CNPC gained access to an additional 51bcm over a three year period this past August (2021), after drilling three new wells at the giant Galkynysh field. 

CNPC was a platinum sponsor of the Oil and Gas Turkmenistan International Conference (OGT) for 2019, 2020, and a gold sponsor for the 2021 OGT. The company was also a platinum sponsor of the 2019 International Gas Congress in Turkmenistan.[xi]

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[i] CNPC, About CNPC, http://www.cnpc.com.cn/en/aboutcnpc/. Original weblink no longer active.

[ii] CNPC, CNPC in Turkmenistan, http://www.cnpc.com.cn/NR/exeres/381878BC-15BF-4C92-A249-C6C30B055239.htm?NRMODE=Unpublished&wbc_purpose=Basic&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished#. Original weblink no longer active.

[iii] CNPC, CNPC in Turkmenistan.

[iv] Reuters, “CNPC Reports Major Gas Find in Turkmenistan,” Sept. 28, 2010, https://www.reuters.com/article/china-turkmenistan-gas-idUKTOE68R02I20100928 . Accessed February 17, 2022.

[v] Vladimir Socor, “China Proposes Turkmenistan-China Pipeline through Northern Afghanistan,”The Jamestown Foundation, June 19, 2012, http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=39510

[vi] Stephen Bierman & Anna Shiryaevakaya, “CNPC, LG Win $9.7 billion of Turkmen Gas Contracts,” Bloomberg, Dec. 30, 2009, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a41E4ecIpaTY. Original weblink no longer active.

[vii] http://www.newscentralasia.net/print/160.html. Original weblink no longer active.

[viii] Ипполитов, Иван. «Китайско-туркменские отношения: от взаимной выгоды к неравному партнёрству?», Проблемы национальной стратегии №3 (42), 2017, https://riss.ru/images/pdf/journal/2017/3/08.pdf. Original weblink no longer active.

[ix] Business Turkmenistan, “Construction of New Onshore Facilities Starts at Turkmen Gas Fields,” https://business.com.tm/post/7560/construction-of-new-onshore-facilities-starts-at-turkmen-gas-fields. Accessed November 17, 2021.

[x] Reuters, “China’s CNPC secures more Turkmen gas in new deal – source.” https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/chinas-cnpc-secures-51-bcm-turkmen-gas-new-deal-says-source-2021-08-23/. Accessed November 17, 2021.

[xi] 26th Turkmenistan International Oil and Gas Conference, https://ogt-turkmenistan.com/event/OGT-2021-conference. Accessed November 4, 2021.