China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) imported more than 5.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan via a landmark pipeline in the first five months of this year, China Petroleum Daily reported on Monday.

Related readings:  CNPC to build more pipelines  CNPC helps fuel Sudanese prosperity  Sinopec, CNPC urge changes to consumption tax  CNPC losses 5b yuan on gas imports from Central Asia

The imports accounted for over 10 percent of domestic gas consumption and half of China's total gas imports in the same period that include both pipelined gas and gas shipped home in the form of liquefied natural gas, the company newspaper said.

CNPC have installed all 29 large gas compressing units on the pipeline and will bring the annual transportation capacity of the pipe to 30 cu m by June next year.

The pipeline spans nearly 2,000 kilometers in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan before reaching the Chinese border in northwestern Xinjiang region.