14. Прочтите и переведите текст: General Evaluation of the Market Situation for Export Gas Pipeline Construction

The countries of the Asian Pacific region have in general a constrained balance of energy resources. They started to install gas later than other developed regions of the world. However, an intensive gas installation is under way now, mainly on the basis of liquefied natural gas.

The favouring factor for the natural gas use in the Asian Pacific region is among others the prevalence of natural gas in the newly opened oil and gas bearing provinces of the region. About 80% of 53 prospected oil and gas bearing structures, which can be prepared for development, are defined as gas fields. The total reserves of the natural gas of 53 prospective fields are evaluated at 1.5 trln m3 of oil that is only 300 mln t or about one fourth of the natural gas reserves if compared in heat value.

In China regarded as the basic prospective consumer of the Kovytkinskoye gas field, the prospected oil reserves are evaluated at 3.3 bln t, the natural gas reserves at 1.7 trln m3 . The natural gas domestic market has preconditions for developing, for the basic gas consumer is the electrical power industry and the rates of its development are 10% per annum. China needs additional natural gas resources in the volume not less than 12-15 bln m3 annually. The largest uncovered demand for gas exists in south­eastern and southern regions of the country.

The prices for the imported gas in the countries of the Asian Pacific region are higher than in Western Europe. In the Western European countries importing gas the prices for gas fluctuate from 85 to 105 doll./1000 m3. The prices for liquefied natural gas were in the Japanese market 120-125 doll., in the Korean market 100-116 doll.

On the basis of marketing studies the selling price in the Chinese market is expected to be about 120 doll./1000 m3. This price creates preconditions for constructing export gas pipeline. China, Korea, Japan in the near future remain large gas importers. For their markets large gas exporters will compete.

Currently this market is supplied with natural liquefied gas from Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia. Therefore the costs and the volumes of these supplies will basically form the prices. It will even the prices in Japan, Korea and in the China sea­shore, for sea transport is more flexible and depends upon the distance to less extent than gas pipelines.

One of the competing projects connected with the gas trans­portation to the Asian Pacific region countries is the "Turk­menistan-China-Japan" gas pipeline construction project. The natural gas from the south-eastern Turkmenistan will be transported through the territory of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to Central China and further to the eastern provinces up to the sea port on the Yellow Sea shore. The capacity of the gas pipeline with the diameter of 1420 mm is 30 bln m3 per annum. The volume of supplies to the final point will amount to 25 bln m3 annually, including 20 bln m3 of the gas from Turkmenistan and 5 bln m3 from Afghanistan.

The total length of the route amounts to 5500 km, 2200 km of which goes through the China territory. 40 compressor stations are planned to be built. A gas-liquefying complex is supposed to be constructed at the final point of the pipeline for further transportation by tankers to the Japanese seaside. The project is to be completed in five years.

This gas pipeline is more than 1,5 thous. km longer than the gas pipeline from Kovytkinskoye field, and this fact limits its competitiveness. Besides, the Turkmenistan project is less elaborated than the Kovytkinskoye gas field pipeline project. But the advantage of the project is the fact that its route goes through the gas bearing regions in the north of China.

Another competing project is gas supply by the gas pipeline from the Sakhalin's shelf fields. The shortcomings of the project are similar to the Turkmenistan's one, besides, gas resources are less here than in the Kovytkinskoye field project.

The natural liquefied gas supplies from Oman, Quatar, New Guinea are more developed, but all these projects will be competitive with the prices for gas about 140 doll./1000 m3 i.e. higher than the ones Kovytkinskoye gas field transportation project has.

The strong side of the Kovytkinskoye field project is the existence of the initial large market (8.8 bln m3 per annum) nearby, while all competing projects fully depend on the foreign markets.