The Belt and Road · Zero Distance | A Long "Qi" Pulse Across the East and West | Uzbekistan | Zero Distance

Urumqi/Ashgabat, August 18th, Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua) - A super long "qi" pulse that runs from east to west

Xinhua News Agency reporter Dai Xiaohe

On August 14th, the sandstorm that ravaged the night finally came to an end.

At 6am local time, when the door to the house was opened, which had been covered in dust all night, the sunlight appeared particularly dazzling, and a heatwave accompanied it.

This is Turkmenistan.

Majalov Behezhuote, a college student who returned from studying in China, successfully joined China National Petroleum Corporation's Amu Darya Natural Gas Company as a gas extraction worker.

After getting up to wash up, Majarov Behezhuote and his colleagues went to the work area. After the sandstorm, the earthy yellow gradually faded and the azure blue gradually became clear, as the sun scorched the earth.

Most of Turkmenistan's territory is covered by the Karakum Desert. The Amu Darya natural gas project is built in this vast and boundless desert hinterland. Turkmenistan's natural gas reserves rank fourth in the world and are known as the "Blue Gold Country". The Amu Darya natural gas project has an annual production of over 10 billion cubic meters and a peak production of 41 million cubic meters per day, making it the largest overseas natural gas project of China National Petroleum Corporation.

In the desert, there are over 100 natural gas wells scattered. The newly extracted gas is collected at the gas gathering station and transported along the pipeline to the processing plant. After desulfurization, decarbonization, dehydration, and hydrocarbon removal, it is finally sent to the export booster station. In half an hour, they will reach the border area between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, 10 kilometers away, and join the China Central Asia natural gas pipeline jointly operated by China National Petroleum Corporation and local partners. The "leader" of this energy dragon is also located here. "Longtou" refers to the first station of a compressed gas station, providing power for natural gas.

At the first stop, around 7 o'clock in the morning, the station owner Song Xiaoning had already started a busy day. He pointed to the roaring factory building and said that the power of the pipeline came from the compressor unit inside the building. The enormous thrust generated by the compressor pushes natural gas forward.

There are 19 such compressor stations from Turkey Uzbekistan border, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan to Khorgos border in Xinjiang, China. Since the completion and operation of the "China Central Asia Natural Gas Pipeline" A line 14 years ago, Chinese and foreign employees have been working tirelessly in the Gobi Desert, enduring extreme cold and heat to ensure the smooth operation of the compressor station.

Starting from the first station, in the next 84 hours, the natural gas in the pipeline will travel all the way eastward, across the desert, grassland and Gobi, and reach Khorgos, Xinjiang after winding nearly 2000 kilometers.

Here, the "China Central Asia Natural Gas Pipeline" connects with the phased construction of the West East Gas Pipeline II and III, forming the world's longest natural gas artery to date. The second line starts from Khorgos in the west, ends at Hong Kong in the south and ends at Shanghai in the east; The third line starts from Khorgos in the west and ends in Fuzhou, Fujian in the east. The longest distance between the two ends of the main artery from Turkmenistan to Hong Kong is 7000 kilometers.

At 8:00 a.m. Beijing time, the gauger Chang Qing arrived at the Khorgos Compressor Station of the National Pipeline Network Group to attend the morning meeting, and reported the transfer volume measured at the Central Asia Gas Pipeline Terminal in the past 24 hours.

Khorgos Station continues to pressurize the natural gas after entry, with a maximum of 160 million cubic meters per day. Every blink of an eye, 300 cubic meters of natural gas has passed Khorgos Station quietly, enough for a family of three for a year.

The Guangdong Dachan Island Compressor Station, about 5000km away from Khorgos, is the end of the second line of the West East Gas Pipeline, and also the hub connecting Guangdong and Hong Kong. Natural gas from Central Asia is pressurized for the last time and transported to the Long Kwu Tan station in Hong Kong through a 20 kilometer long Hong Kong branch submarine pipeline.

Long Kwu Tan Station and Tai Chan Island Station face each other across the sea, located at the foot of Tsing Shan in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It is the "terminus" of Central Asian natural gas southward, delivering 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas to the Tsing Shan Power Plant in Hong Kong every year, achieving the replacement of gas and coal for the largest power plant in Hong Kong. The converted "green electricity" meets the electricity needs of one quarter of Hong Kong residents.

Starting from the hinterland of the Central Asian desert, crossing the majestic Tianshan Mountains, and reaching the brilliant Xiangjiang River, natural gas from Central Asia injects momentum into the economic development along the route.

Looking back to December 14, 2009, the heads of state of China, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan jointly opened the valve of the China Central Asia natural gas pipeline. This is China's first cross-border natural gas trunk pipeline and has become a key energy project of the "the Belt and Road".

"The pipeline has four gas sources, with two main sources coming from Turkmenistan, accounting for three-quarters of the total intake. In addition, there are Uzbekistan's Gazli gas source and western Kazakhstan's gas source." Zuo Dong, director of the Chimkent Management Office of the China Kazakhstan Natural Gas Pipeline Joint Venture of China National Petroleum International Pipeline Company, said that the A/B/C pipelines are parallel, achieving interconnection of energy infrastructure between China and Central Asian countries.

This huge "gas dragon" connects China and abroad, reflecting the past and present. Within Central Asia, some pipelines happen to run parallel to the Silk Road, known as the "New Silk Road" for energy.

In 2022, Khorgos Station will transport about 43 billion cubic meters of Central Asian natural gas, accounting for 11.8% of the national consumption in the same year. Fu Mingfu, Deputy General Manager of the Western Pipeline Company of the State Grid Corporation of China, said that as of now, the second and third lines of the West East Gas Pipeline have transported over 440 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Central Asia, benefiting nearly 500 million people in two-thirds of China's regions.

For China, natural gas plays a huge role in promoting the "coal to gas" conversion, assisting in the "blue sky defense war", and welcoming the peak winter season.

Through natural gas cooperation with China, Central Asian countries have also integrated into the huge energy market. Turkmenistan has designated "Oil Workers' Day" as December 14th, which marks the official opening of the China Central Asia Gas Pipeline.

"In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, we have created over 11000 temporary jobs and provided more than 1600 long-term jobs. During the 30-year operation of the pipeline, we will also generate taxes worth billions of dollars," said Meng Xiangdong, Executive Director of China National Petroleum International Pipeline Company.

This new energy "Silk Road" also inherits love, friendship, and family ties.

At the home of an employee of the Sino Ukrainian natural gas pipeline joint venture company, a pair of mixed race twin boys just celebrated their 5th birthday. They are called "Belt and Road" respectively.

Parents of the Belt and Road Initiative meet and love each other through this channel. Dad Chen Kuan is a chef at the Sino Ukrainian natural gas pipeline joint venture company; Mom Azafia, used to be a compressor station employee.

The pipeline not only connects the natural gas supply in their respective hometowns, but also fosters love between the two young people and leads to a cross-border marriage.

"With the surging of natural gas, the friendship between China and the people of countries along the route is constantly heating up, and the path to future happiness is constantly extending," said Ospankulov, Deputy General Manager of China Kazakhstan Natural Gas Pipeline Joint Venture Construction.