Turkmenistan able to meet European gas needs: Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources today issued a statement claiming that the country was quite capable of meeting all Europe’s gas requirements in the long term. “Its huge resource base of hydrocarbons onshore and offshore will allow Turkmenistan to increase the exports of natural gas to the world markets, to develop the new routes of its exports in an eastern and European direction,” the statement said.
The country has the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world and is working towards a position where it will be able to supply 30 m³ each year. Negotiations are also taking place surrounding the construction of the 180km Trans-Caspian pipeline that will connect its offshore fields to the network of pipelines heading into Turkey and from there into western Europe.
Both Iran and Russia are opposing the pipeline on environmental grounds, although the Ministry is claiming that a study being undertaken RSK Environment is undertaking on behalf of the World Bank is likely to conclude that those grounds are unfounded.
Turkmenistan able to meet European gas needs, Ministry claims
Source: TREND