China, Turkmenistan sign natural gas deal

China will be allowed to produce and import natural gas from Turkmenistan, after the two countries signed a deal yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal was signed between the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (PetroChina's parent company) and a Turkmenistan government agency. No further details were given about the deal, although it is known that China has been negotiating to buy 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Turkmenistan and its neighbor, Kazakhstan, over a 30-year period. The natural gas is likely to be transported through a new pipeline. Turkmenistan has natural gas reserves of 2.8 trillion cubic meters.