China’s increasing imports from the Amy Darya natural gas project in Turkmenistan will further secure supply for China’s residential heating, in an effort to ease the country’s current winter gas shortage, announced China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).

According to statistics released by CNPC on Dec.17, the company’s 101 gas wells and two gas processing stations in Turkmen have kicked into overdrive to increase gas supply to China, while its daily volume of imported gas has increased 5 million cubic meters to 39 million cubic meters for the last six days.

“39 million cubic meters of gas can cover one-third of winter gas consumption in Beijing, as well as cut coal consumption by 63,000 tons per day, which can reduce pollution,” read a report from CNPC.

The report also noted that in order to safeguard China’s gas supply, the company plans to open six more gas wells in Turkmen, which are expected to be operational in 2018, transporting 40 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Based on a production sharing agreement signed by CNPC and Turkmenistan authorities in 2007, Turkmenistan will export 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China annually for 30 years.

CNPC’s increasing gas importation is China’s latest move to tackle the winter gas shortage, as authorities apply a gas-for-coal strategy to reduce the country’s notorious air pollution.

Millions of households have switched to gas instead of coal for heating this winter to help combat air pollution, creating a sudden surge in the demand, with Chinese authorities calling for more imported natural gas.

“China’s natural gas imports are expected to rise as new cross-border gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals come into use,” Gao Feng, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce, was quoted as saying by Xinhua on Dec. 7.

Gao’s remarks were supported by statistics from China’s customs, which showed that from January to October, China's natural gas imports rose 24.9 percent year on year to 54.165 million tonnes.