"China really needs large volumes of gas,” he told Trend. “It will easily buy the proposed Russian gas and the entire Central Asian gas."

He went on to add that gas consumption volume in China is constantly growing and this growth will continue in the future.

He recalled that China decided to gradually pass from coal to gas as it is more environmentally friendly kind of fuel.

Syroezhkin said that since China is on planned economy, all the decisions there are carried out.

“First of all, China needs gas for all thermal power plants of the country, so that most of which are now running on coal, could run on gas,” he said.

In addition, large volumes of gas are necessary to China for the production of aluminum, which is growing rapidly, according to the expert.

The expert believes that despite some slowdown in growth of the Chinese economy, the country will continue to increase gas purchases in Russia and Central Asia.

Syroezhkin explains this by the fact that there is now an unstable situation in the Middle East, where China traditionally purchased energy.

“This is very problematic for China, and the country needs other land routes,” he said.

In addition, the Chinese economy still continues to grow, and this growth will not fall below 7 percent, according to the expert.

He went on to add that in addition, China will have to buy energy resources, regardless of any economic difficulties.

Syroezhkin believes the gas offered by Russia and all the Central Asian gas available for China isn`t so much in comparison with this country’s needs.

“The volume of the Turkmen gas is a questionable issue,” said the expert, adding that the Turkmen gas volume has not been proven.

He went on to add that for the Central Asia it would`ve been good to diversify the routes of export of its gas, but it is unlikely due to lack of necessary infrastructure, and to build it will be difficult.

It will be needed to build a pipeline under the Caspian Sea to deliver gas from Central Asia to Europe, however Syroezhkin said the construction of such a pipeline would be interfered by the undefined status of the Caspian Sea, and it will see opposition from Russia and Iran.

The implementation of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project will be under a big question due to the security threat in the region through which it is expected to run, according to the expert.

He added that under the current situation, the pipeline in Afghanistan would be under the threat of explosion every day. With regards to Iran, he said even if the sanctions on the country are lifted, the delivery of gas from Central Asia to Europe through this country is unlikely.

“Iran doesn’t need additional volumes,” said the expert. “Iran can sell its gas and it has no need to earn from transit.”

Therefore, currently, China is the most real buyer of the Central Asian gas, according to the expert. Moreover, China makes considerable amount of investments in the development of fields and infrastructure in Central Asia which also makes it a beneficial buyer despite the small price that it pays for the gas, he added.

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