DUSHANBE, April 12, 2014, Asia-Plus -- China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation, which is affiliated to China National Petroleum Corporation, has registered its branch in Tajikistan, according to the Tax Committee under the Government of Tajikistan.

An official source at the Tax Committee says the branch was registered on April 7, 2014.  

China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (abbreviated to CPECC) is affiliated to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and is a CNPC professional company specializing in oil engineering, manufacturing, construction and lump-sum contracting.  It is now the most representative company of CNPC in domestic and international petroleum project construction.

We will recall that CNPC’s subsidiary Trans-Asia Gas Pipeline Company Limited and Tojiktransgaz (Tajik state-controlled natural gas distributor) have signed an agreement on jointly establishing a natural gas pipeline company to manage the construction of the fourth line (Line D) of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline.

Designing this line reportedly began soon after the signing of a 25 bcm/a gas supply increasing agreement between China and Turkmenistan in November 2011.  In September 2013, the Chinese Government signed inter-governmental agreements with Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan respectively on Line D project.  The feasibility studies for the project have been completed by Trans-Asia Gas Pipeline Company.

CNPC reports that construction of Tajikistan’s section of Line D is expected to start during this year.  By the end of China''s 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), when construction of Line A/B/C/D and the auxiliary facilities in China are completed, 80 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be transported from Central Asia to China on an annual basis, taking over 40% of China’s gas imports of the year, the report says.

Besides, another CNPC’s subsidiary, China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation (CNODC), is participating in the Bokhtar Production Sharing Contract.

Tethys announced on December 21, 2012 that its subsidiary, Kulob Petroleum Limited, has signed a farm-out agreement (FOA) for the Bokhtar Production Sharing Contract (PSC) in Tajikistan with subsidiaries of Total (France) and CNPC.

Established in November 1999, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is a Chinese state-owned oil and gas corporation and the largest integrated energy company in the People''s Republic of China. It has its headquarters in Dongcheng District, Beijing. CNPC is the parent of PetroChina, the second largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization as of June 2010.