This section, which is 970 km in length, is part of the 3,000 km project which stretches from western Kazakhstan to western China. Once completed in December of next year, it will be able to carry around 10 million tons of crude during its first phase.

According to Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Vladimir Shkolnik, the crude for the first phase of the project will come from both Kazakhstan and from Russia.

“At its first stage of operation, the future Atasu-Alashankou oil pipeline will be filled with oil from the Yuzhno-Turgayskiy group of deposits and from Western Siberia,” said Shkolnik.

“The Chinese CNPC national oil and gas corporation, which is responsible for the filling of the pipeline in accordance with an agreement, is conducting negotiations to this effect [and] we are helping them in this,” added the Minister without elaborating further.