Turkmenistan interested in expanding access to European, Asian energy markets
By Aynur Jafarova
Energy-rich Turkmenistan, a major energy producer in the Central Asian region and the fourth country in the world after Russia, Iran, and Qatar in terms of natural gas resources, is keen on expanding its access to the European and Asian markets.
Being one of the key players in the energy market of the resource-rich Caspian region, the Central Asian state produces about 70-80 billion cubic meters of gas a year. Under a program for oil and gas development, the country's annual natural gas production is expected to reach 250 billion cubic meters by 2030, mostly for export purposes.
Turkmenistan intends to increase its production volume and export of natural gas, and diversify supply routes to major world markets as part of its energy strategy.
Currently, the Turkmenistan is implementing several gas transportation projects to diversify its gas transportation routes. The country is interested in the supply of gas to the West as well.
At a recent cabinet meeting, Turkmen President Gurbanguly
Berdymukhamedov called on the relevant officials to form a flexible
system of energy transportation to the world markets.
He instructed the relevant bodies to further develop the oil and
gas sector, attract foreign investments in large-scale projects,
including the development of new hydrocarbon fields, construction
of gas-chemical facilities, as well as technical re-equipping of
oil refineries.
Currently, the domestic products are exported to more than 40 world
countries. Today, Turkmenistan has an opportunity to export natural
gas to China, India, Pakistan, as well as the European
countries.
The gas pipelines that are planned to run from Turkmenistan
include the Trans-Caspian (through the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan
to Europe) and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI)
pipelines (to Pakistan and India).
The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline with a length of around 300
kilometers will be laid from the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea
to Azerbaijan, where it will be linked to the Southern Gas
Corridor. The pipeline's capacity is 30-40 billion cubic meters of
gas per year.
Talks on the construction of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline between Turkmenistan, the EU, and other countries have been held since late 1990s. The negotiation process intensified after the EU issued a mandate to start negotiations on the preparation of an agreement between the EU, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan on the Trans-Caspian project in September 2011.
If Turkmenistan intends to export its gas to Europe, Azerbaijan is ready to provide it with all necessary infrastructure in this regard.
The TAPI project with a proposed capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year will extend from Galkynysh field in Turkmenistan through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar to its final point at a settlement on the Pakistani-Indian border.
TAPI is not only a regional project envisaging the transportation of Turkmen gas, but also a global project. The implementation of the project will strengthen Turkmenistan's independence, and its gas supplies to world markets will increase significantly.
Another attractive market for exporting Turkmenistan's natural gas is a major energy consumer China, which is ready to absorb hydrocarbon resources of both Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
China and Turkmenistan enjoy a natural advantage and huge capacities in energy cooperation. China is one of the key buyers of Turkmen gas, and intends to increase its annual purchases up to 65 billion cubic meters of gas.
Thus, Turkmenistan itself should decide to increase its gas export to foreign markets and gain huge profits from its rich resources.