Русский
The Kazakh Energy Ministry is continuing its dialogue regarding the construction of a transit gas pipeline from Russia to China, the ministry has stated, saying that “Issues of developing gas transport routes, including the Russia-Kazakhstan-China direction, are being studied. ” Interaction with interested parties on these issues continues. Work is also currently ongoing on the Ishim-Astana gas pipeline project. The technical and economic parameters of the project are being studied with the Russian side, and the conditions for its implementation are also being discussed.”
Kazakh analysts had previously suggested that the Russia-Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline would most likely be scrapped because Gazprom and China’s CNPC have signed a memorandum on constructing Power of Siberia 2 and a transit gas pipeline through Mongolia. However, recent developments in the Middle East have resurrected the concept of the pipeline transiting Kazakhstan.
In November 2024, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported that the option of exporting gas through East Kazakhstan to China with a capacity of up to 35 billion cubic meters per year is being worked out. The Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan hoped that through the implementation of this project it would also be possible to develop the gas infrastructure of the northeastern regions of the country, but the signing on September 2, 2025, of the memorandum on the construction of the Power of Siberia—2 through Mongolia (Soyuz Vostok) effectively buried these plans. However, recent events in the Middle East have revived the concept of a gas pipeline passing through Kazakhstan.
In parallel, work is continuing on the Ishim-Astana main gas pipeline project, which is important for the gasification of the capital of Kazakhstan and the surrounding regions. Dauren Abaev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation, stated that the pipeline is scheduled to be commissioned on January 1, 2030.
In 2023, the government of Kazakhstan and Gazprom signed an agreement on strategic cooperation. The document aims to develop cooperation in the supply, transportation, and processing of natural gas, as well as its exploration and production. The parties discussed the construction of a gas pipeline with a capacity of 45 billion cubic meters of gas, with an estimated 10 billion cubic meters for the development of gas infrastructure in northeastern Kazakhstan and 35 billion cubic meters for export to China.
In October 2025, within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (SPGF-2025), Gazprom and Kazakhstan signed a memorandum on the construction of a new main gas pipeline from Russia to Kazakhstan. The main gas pipeline for the supply of gas to consumers in the northern and northeastern regions of Kazakhstan has already been included in the territorial planning scheme of Russia in the field of federal transport. The design level of gas transportation is 10 billion cubic meters per year; the capacity of the compressor station is 50 MW.
It is important to note that the memorandum is not yet a legally binding document. The key issues for its transformation into an agreement will be the price at which Kazakhstan is willing to purchase gas from Russia and the availability of a viable demand for such volumes in the northeastern region.
