Turkmenistan, one of the world's top hydrocarbon reserves, continues to build a gas pipeline to South Asia and considers the Trans-Caspian project in the European direction an ambitious goal for itself.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov said this in his address to participants of an oil and gas road show to attract foreign investments, starting in Dubai, UAE, on April 26. State-owned Turkmengaz and Turkmenneft sponsor the event. The UK-based GaffneyCline is assisting in organizing it.
The construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) transnational gas pipeline continues at an accelerated pace, and there are excellent prospects for cooperation for foreign business representatives, the greeting said.
Berdimuhamedov notes that implementing this ambitious plan will significantly impact the economies of all countries in the region.
Another most ambitious project is the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline to export Turkmen "blue" fuel to Europe, the head of state notes.
Against this background, the phased development of Galkynysh, the second-largest gas field in the world, is continuing. "In this, we attach particular importance to foreign investment. One of the main tasks is to develop at the expense of foreign capital licensed blocks of the Turkmen section of the Caspian Sea based on a production-sharing agreement.
"For this, Turkmenistan has a financially, economically, and legally favorable investment climate, which is gradually improving in line with international requirements".
Turkmenistan is one of the key players in the energy market in the region and has the world's fourth-largest proven natural gas reserves after Russia, Iran, and Qatar. Current buyers of Turkmen gas are China, Russia, Azerbaijan (via Iran), and Uzbekistan.
The construction of Turkmenistan's 33bn cubic meters TAPI section started in December 2015. The raw material base at Galkynysh was prepared during this period, and a linear gas pipeline to the Afghan border was laid. Technical studies have recently been completed in Afghanistan, and land acquisition work is ongoing. However, the issue of financing this section of TAPI remains open. The Asian Development Bank, which promoted the project, has suspended its operations in Kabul, awaiting the international legitimacy of the Islamic Emirate government, which came to power in 2021.
The relevance of the European route increased after the EU decided to shed its critical dependence on Gazprom after Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine in February 2022. Iran and Russia oppose constructing a pipeline from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan, citing the "fragile ecology of the Caspian Sea."
Turkmenistan, for its part, already built a 700-km linear gas pipeline to the Caspian Sea coast, originating in Galkynysh, in 2015. It remains to add compressor stations. As a result, Ashgabat is ready to supply Europe with up to 30-40bn cubic meters annually. However, investment is also needed to build the necessary infrastructure.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
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