Russia’s energy behemoth Gazprom announced with great fanfare in early 2024 that it had overtaken Turkmenistan as China’s largest supplier of natural gas in terms of volume. But when it comes to export earnings, Ashgabat still tops Moscow. The Turkmen portal, Oil & Gas, reports that during the first quarter of this year, Ashgabat generated $2.4 billion in income from gas exports to China. That figure was confirmed by Daryo, Uzbekistan’s most popular news website.
An independent outlet, The Chronicle of Turkmenistan, reported that the capacity of Russia’s Power of Siberia gas pipeline to China is projected to be 38 billion cubic meters bcm in 2025. Meanwhile, the collective capacity of three pipelines connecting Turkmenistan and China totals 55 bcm. Turkmen state-affiliated media outlets have cast some shade on the Kremlin’s exports in reports about Ashgabat’s gas earnings from China they have omitted mention of Russia.