President: Turkmenistan steadily increases its presence in energy markets
Turkmenistan is steadily increasing its presence in the major world energy markets, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has said at an enlarged government meeting, Trend news agency reported referring to the Turkmen government.
The president stressed the importance of large-scale projects in the fuel-energy sector and, in particular, in accelerating gas production and export volumes.
A report of the State Agency for Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources under the Turkmen President was heard. The issues relating to the activity of supervised bodies, international cooperation in the fuel-energy sector were discussed.
Turkmenistan is one of the key players in the energy market of the Caspian region and Central Asia. According to the oil and gas industry development program, it is planned to increase the annual production of gas up to 250 billion cubic meters, mainly for export, in 2030.
In 2013 Turkmenistan plans to commission its largest Galkynysh field with initial capacity of 30 billion cubic meters of tank gas a year.
As local media reported with the reference to Gaffney, Cline & Associates (UK), Galkynysh is the second largest field in the world. The field has a total area of 1,800 square kilometers.
This gas field is expected to provide all existing and planned gas pipelines from Turkmenistan with fuel in the future. For this purpose, East-West gas pipeline is being constructed in the country. According to the specified data, its length will hit 800 kilometers.
At this stage, Turkmenistan exports natural gas to China, Iran and Russia.
Among the planned gas pipelines from Turkmenistan are the additional to Russia (Caspian gas pipeline - through Kazakhstan), Europe (Trans-Caspian gas pipeline - Nabucco, or as part of the AGRI-on the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan) and India (Trans-Afghan gas pipeline via Pakistan).
Ashgabat is promoting a number of initiatives in the field of global energy security. The matter rests in creating an inter-regional energy dialogue under UN aegis designed to form the legal framework regulating the rights and obligations of producers, transit countries and consumers of energy resources.