Turkmenistan opens pipeline in direction of Europe
Turkmenistan has commissioned the East-West gas pipeline that
will be used for delivering Turkmen gas to Europe in the future,
Trend’s correspondent reported from Turkmenbashi.
The pipeline runs from Shatlyk gas compressor station in Mary
province to Belek gas compressor station in Balkan province.
Turkmenistan’s largest gas fields such as Galkynysh and Dovletabad
are located in Mary province.
Turkmenistan is fully ready to supply gas to Europe from the technical point of view, the country’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov said during the ceremony of commissioning the East-West gas pipeline on December 23.
“Western direction is one of the priorities of our energy partnership,” said the president, adding that the dialogue held with the EU countries was aimed at studying the possibilities of delivering Turkmen energy resources to Europe.
“Given that the construction of the East-West gas pipeline has been completed, the joint work with European countries acquires a qualitatively new content,” said Berdimuhammadov.
The president pointed out that Turkmenistan is ready to continue the talks on delivering gas to Europe.
Berdimuhammadov said that the commissioning of the East-West gas pipeline creates opportunities for resuming the cooperation with the Caspian Sea countries for constructing the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline.
“We firmly believe that this project meets the fundamental interests of our states,” said the president. “It will ensure the economic growth and enable to attract long-term investments.”
Berdimuhammadov expressed confidence that the construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline will have a positive impact on all issues related to the further development of the multifaceted cooperation in the Caspian Sea, enhancing the security and cooperation in this important region.
He said that commissioning of the East-West gas pipeline created new prospects in the implementation of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project, adding that it is about expanding the resource and infrastructure base.
The president said that currently, this issue depends on the political will only.
Turkmenistan aims to take concrete and effective steps to fulfill the agreements reached earlier on the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project, he added.
The gas pipeline is meant to transport natural gas to the
country’s other gas pipelines and to increase the volume and
reliability of gas export. It will enable to meet the gas demand of
the country’s regions, construct and commission tens of new
industrial facilities, ensure the development of leading sectors,
primarily the electricity sphere.
Earlier, the European Commission’s Vice President for Energy Union
Maros Sefcovic said that the EU expects to receive Turkmen gas in
2019. A working group consisting of deputy energy ministers from
the EU, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey was created
for this purpose in 2015.
The best route for delivering Turkmen gas to Europe would be a
300-kilometer long gas pipeline running through the Caspian Sea to
Azerbaijani coasts by further connecting it to the Southern Gas
Corridor gas pipelines’ system.
In this case, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey will play a role of
transit countries.
The length of the East-West pipeline is 773 kilometers with the
capacity of 30 billion cubic meters of gas.
The pipeline’s construction has been carried out since May 2010 by
Turkmengaz and Turkmennebitgazgurlushyk (Turkmenneftegazstroy)
state concerns. Foreign companies were also involved in the
contract work. The approximate cost of the pipeline’s construction
is $2.5 billion.
Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world for the volume of natural
gas reserve. The Galkynysh field, the gas from which will be
transported via the East-West pipeline has 21.2 trillion cubic
meters of gas reserve.
It is the second largest field in the world after the South Pars
field in Iran. The third stage of developing this field started in
mid-December.
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