DUSHANBE, March 11, 2014, Asia-Plus – Trans-Asia Gas Pipeline Company Limited, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), and Tojiktransgaz (Tajik state-controlled natural gas distributor) has signed an agreement on jointly establishing a natural gas pipeline company to manage the construction of the fourth line (Line D) of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline.

According to information posted on CNPC’s website, the agreement signed in Dushanbe on March 4 this year.

Designing this line reportedly began soon after the signing of a 25 bcm/a gas supply increasing agreement between China and Turkmenistan in November 2011.  In September 2013, the Chinese Government signed inter-governmental agreements with Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan respectively on Line D project.  The feasibility studies for the project have been completed by Trans-Asia Gas Pipeline Company.

Construction of Tajikistan’s section of Line D is expected to start during this year, CNPC reports.  By the end of China''s 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), when construction of Line A/B/C/D and the auxiliary facilities in China are completed, 80 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be transported from Central Asia to China on an annual basis, taking over 40% of China’s gas imports of the year, the report says.

Established in November 1999, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is a Chinese state-owned oil and gas corporation and the largest integrated energy company in the People''s Republic of China. It has its headquarters in Dongcheng District, Beijing. CNPC is the parent of PetroChina, the second largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization as of June 2010