In order to meet its growing energy demand, China, the third-largest natural gas consumer globally, is broadening its search for stable natural gas supplies beyond Nigeria and other African countries, which are home to enormous gas reserves.
Recently, Kazakhstan, a country located in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, proposed a pipeline designed to deliver Russia’s gas to China through Kazakhstan’s eastern regions, which is expected to increase Russia’s share in the Chinese energy market.
The proposed pipeline by Kazakhstan is planned to become the quickest and shortest way to deliver Russian gas to China through Kazakhstan’s eastern regions, according to the statement.
“Moscow has emphasized its eastward shift toward Asian energy markets due to Western sanctions. In 2022, Russian gas exports fell by 25 percent; however, China received unprecedented amounts of Russian gas via the Power of Siberia pipeline,” the statement said.
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“China is the world’s third-largest consumer of natural gas, after the United States and Russia. Nevertheless, Australia has been China’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas for many years.”
In recent years, Kazakhstan has become China’s favorite investment destination in Central Asia. In the past 15 years, China has invested about $30 billion in the Kazakhstani economy; some independent experts suggest that this number may be twice as high.
In addition, China’s increased economic plans in Kazakhstan have further accelerated the decline of Russian influence in the region. Beijing’s economic superiority vis-à-vis Russia is the primary factor driving its growing influence.
“Since before Russia’s all-out aggression against Ukraine, Kazakhstan had already discussed new gas pipeline projects to gasify its remote areas. And while the prospect of becoming a gas hub between Russia and China is attractive to Astana, the new pipeline project is not aimed at helping Russia circumvent sanctions,” the statement said.
“While the technical details still need to be finalized for the pipeline project, it is already clear that it will require billions of dollars to complete. And with Western sanctions affecting both China and Russia, the financing angle could become difficult.”
China has been searching for other sources of stable gas supplies. In this regard, Russian gas reserves are critically important for Beijing. And having lost half of the European market, Moscow is extremely interested in expanding its share of the Chinese energy market, according to a statement.
Oil and gas experts say political instability, security concerns, and inadequate infrastructure hinder China’s ability to secure natural gas exports from Nigeria and other African countries. They also say that getting gas from Russia is cheaper than in Africa based on the distance.
Ndubuisi Okereke, a lecturer in the petroleum engineering department at the Federal University of Technology Owerri, said political instability, security concerns, and inadequate infrastructure have a great impact on operations and will consequently affect the confidence of China in pitching its tent with Nigeria and other African countries on a gas purchase.
More than 25 percent of China’s oil and gas imports come from Africa, its second-largest source of supply, after the Middle East. However, experts say more investment is needed to strengthen gas supplies from Africa.
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