Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Turkmenistan's natural gas production increased by 6.9 percent, and liquefied gas by 3.3 percent in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same period of 2013.

This was announced by the Turkmen State Statistics Committee on April 7.

Turkmenistan intends to increase the production volume and export of natural gas, and diversify the routes of supply to major world markets as part of its energy strategy.

Under the program for oil and gas development, the country's annual natural gas production is planned to reach 250 billion cubic meters by 2030, mostly for export purposes.

Electricity production ups

The electricity production growth rate in Turkmenistan has increased by 16.2 percent in the reported period.

Turkmenistan generated 18.8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in January-November 2013.

Power generation is one of the leading sectors of the national economy. The country plans to bring its electricity production to 27.4 billion kilowatt hours by 2020 and to 35.5 billion kilowatt hours by 2030.

The work is underway to expand the export of electricity to Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. The opportunities to supply Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and the Caucasian countries are being examined.

Currently, 10 power stations, 32 turbines are operating as part of Turkmenistan's energy system.