Kazakhstan
”s oil pipeline monopoly boosted shipments through its Atasu-Alashankou to
China
by 22% in the first half of this year as it sent more Kazakh and Russian crude to the world”s second biggest energy user.
Kazakhstan
”s oil exports through the pipeline to
China
in the six months increased 512,000 tonnes from a year earlier to 2.807 million tones.
Russia
sent 465,000 tones to
China
via its Omsk-Pavlodar-Atasu-Alashankou link in the same period.
As per report, the 200,000 barrel per day Atasu-Alashankou pipeline was completed in December 2005 at a cost of US$ 800 million. Russian crude oil is delivered to the pipe though a link from
Omsk
in
Siberia
.
Russia
sent oil to
China
through the pipeline for the first time in the first quarter, when it allowed OAO Gazprom Neft and BP Plc”s Russian venture TNK-BP each to ship 150,000 tones.
The company said state run KazTransOil”s crude shipments through the Atyrau-Samara pipeline rose by 161,000 tones from a year earlier to 8.135 million tones in the first half. It sent 5.82 million tones to
Kazakhstan
”s three refineries increase of 398,000 tones. It said the company crude oil loading to rail cars increased by 336,000 tones to 2.24 million tones in the period.
China
is second only to the
US
in energy consumption.