Modelling competition between natural gas pipeline projects to China

China's natural gas demand is expected to grow rapidly in the coming decades. Therefore the potential of several pipelines from Russia and other CIS countries to China has been investigated. A two-step game-theoretic procedure for the problem formulation is proposed to assess the projects' economic perspectives. In the instantaneous supply game the players determine optimal supply levels to the market. Based on these results the players decide in the game of timing when to construct their pipelines. Results indicate that a number of proposed pipelines are competitive under the assumptions made and could enter the market within the coming decade.