Turkmenistan has huge potential to increase natural gas exports to various destinations, including European and Asian markets, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reports.
"As a sovereign state capable of implementing grandiose projects independently and in cooperation, Turkmenistan has established close ties with dozens of countries, major foreign companies, as well as financial structures and international organizations."
The article says the country, which seeks long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy sector, is creating a favorable investment climate. Ashgabat often holds international forums to attract foreign investment.
Photo: state concern Turkmengaz
Turkmenistan is a key player in the region's energy market and has the fourth largest proven natural gas reserves in the world after Russia, Iran and Qatar. Current buyers of Turkmen gas are China and a number of CIS countries.
South Asia
In December 2015, construction of the Turkmenistan section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline with a capacity of 33bn cubic meters of gas began. During this period, the raw material base was prepared and a linear gas pipeline was laid to the Afghan border.
At the same time, the issue of financing the Afghan segment of TAPI remains open. The Asian Development Bank, which was promoting the project, has suspended its activities in Kabul pending the international legitimacy of the Islamic Emirate government that came to power in 2021.
Europe
Experts told Daryo that the relevance of the discussed European route increased after the EU decided to get rid of its critical dependence on Gazprom after Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine in February 2022.
However, Caspian littoral states Iran and Russia still oppose the construction of a pipeline from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan, citing the "fragile ecology of the Caspian Sea."
Turkmenistan, for its part, in 2015 already built a 700-kilometer linear gas pipeline to the Caspian Sea coast, originating in Galkynysh, the world's largest onshore gas field. Compressor stations remain to be built.
Official Ashgabat has previously stated that it is ready to supply Europe with up to 30-40bn cubic meters of gas annualy, but investments are also needed to build the infrastructure.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov
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