Ashgabat to raise gas production
By Sara Rajabova
Turkmenistan plans to increase its gas production volume with producing over 80 billion cubic meters of commercial gas in 2015.
Turkmenistan produced over 76 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2014, while its export volume neared 45 billion cubic meters, said a report by the country’s Ministry of Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources.
Turkmenistan is one of the key players in the energy market of the resource-rich Caspian region. The Central Asian state has the world's fourth largest natural gas reserves after Russia, Iran, and Qatar, and produces about 70-80 billion cubic meters of gas each year.
The largest deposits of the country are concentrated in Mary region in the east of Turkmenistan.
Moreover, the Ministry said Turkmenistan will fully ensure the gas export on all routes, including Iran, Russia, China and such projects as TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) and Trans-Caspian pipeline (under the Caspian Sea to the coast of Azerbaijan), as well as on other possible export routes.
Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said in mid-January that in 2015 oil production should be brought to 11,110 million.
Also, the Turkmenistan-China pipeline commissioned in late 2009 is rapidly increasing its capacity, according to the Ministry.
By 2017, the capacity of the system from Turkmenistan to China will increase to 80 billion cubic meters of gas and by the end of 2021, Turkmenistan will annually supply 65 billion cubic meters of gas under the agreement signed between CNPC and Turkmengaz.
It is reported that the capacity of the first two lines of the pipeline amounted to 30 billion cubic meters of gas at the end of 2010. The construction of the third line with capacity of 25 billion cubic meters of gas per year was completed at the end of 2014.
As of 2015, the capacity of the pipeline from Turkmenistan to China is 55 billion cubic meters per year.
In September 2013, the leaders of Turkmenistan and China signed an agreement to build a fourth line of the gas pipeline with a capacity of 25 billion cubic meters of gas per year. This branch will pass from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan to China. Construction of the pipeline is set to be accomplished in 2017.
Turkmenistan intends to increase the production volume and export of natural gas, and diversify its routes of supply to major world markets as part of a larger energy strategy.
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.
Currently, domestic products are exported to more than 40 world countries, including Turkey, China, Russia, UAE, Iran, Germany, U.S., UK, Ukraine and Switzerland.
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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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