Kazakhstan in Talks With China to Increase Natural Gas Exports

Kazakhstan is negotiating an increase in natural gas exports to China including via a new pipeline, Bloomberg has reported, noting this would put Kazakhstan in a competition with Turkmenistan and Russia. “Despite reports of an economic slowdown in China, the demand for gas continues to grow,” Sanzhar Zharkeshov, chief executive officer at Kazakh national gas operator QazaqGaz, told Bloomberg. “We hope to reach a consensus on increasing our export volumes to China and possibly other countries like Uzbekistan.” To date, Kazakh…