Turkmenistan speeds up East-West pipeline construction
By Aynur Karimova
The construction of the East-West gas pipeline is underway at an accelerated pace. After its commissioning, the pipeline will ensure the efficient export and increase the reliability of Turkmenistan’s gas supply, Turkmen Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry said on July 23.
The gas pipeline will deliver 30 billion cubic meters of commercial gas from the richest fields in Turkmenistan’s east to the projected international gas pipeline systems in the country’s west.
Turkmenistan plans to complete the construction of the 773-kilometer gas pipeline in late 2015.
It is possible to supply the 14 billion cubic meters of gas from the Galkynysh field to the pipeline’s final destination, the Belek gas compressor station, by a direct flow – that is, without using a intermediate compressor station.
Turkmenistan, which has the fourth largest proven gas reserves in the world, is actively implementing an energy strategy aimed at increasing exports of the blue fuel and diversifying its supply routes to the largest global markets, where the demand for energy resources is growing.
Being one of the key players in the gas market of the Caspian Sea region and Central Asia, Turkmenistan produces about 70-80 billion cubic meters of gas a year. It possesses some 17 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, with some estimates placing that figure upwards of 25 or 26 trillion cubic meters.
The East-West pipeline can thus be used to supply much-needed Turkmen gas to Europe and it shows the country’s will to become a primary player in the natural gas arena.
Currently, Turkmenistan is implementing several major projects worth $20 billion aimed at increasing the production and export of natural gas, as well as projects for the deep processing of gas.
These projects include the development of the second stage of Galkynysh field, the construction of Turkmen section of the fourth branch of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline with a total capacity of 30 billion cubic meters, a plant for polyethylene and polypropylene production in Balkan province, as well as a plant for producing synthetic gasoline from natural gas in Akhal province.
Plans are underway to start the deep chemical processing of natural gas. This plan includes removing propane, ethane, and other components from the natural gas and processing it to produce polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and other products, as well as the chemically processing methane to produce methanol and further processing this methanol to produce liquid fuels, i.e. gasoline, diesel fuel, and so on.