Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Nov. 20 / Trend H. Hasanov /
South Korea's Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas) took part in a presentation on "Cooperation in the field of natural gas between Turkmenistan and Korea" in Ashgabat, the Turkmen Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said today.
The employees of the departments of the Turkmen Ministry attended it.
The issues of increasing the bilateral potential were discussed during the three sessions. These issues include the current status of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project, and in particular, the proposal made to Kogas Turkmenistan regarding the project.
Such aspects as the stability of Korea's success on demand and supply of gas and cooperation between Turkmenistan and Korea, the natural gas industry in Korea were also discussed at the presentation.
According to the information, Korean specialists have emphasized the great potential for expanding their presence in the Turkmen market. This interest is clear as South Korean companies have been already involved in the development of the largest field in Turkmenistan on the service conditions, which is considered as a raw material source for TAPI.
The matter rests in a contract signed between Turkmenistan and a consortium of companies LG International and Hyundai Engineering in 2009 for the design and construction of a complex on purifying commercial gas from sulfur with the annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of the total amount (including VAT) $1.5 billion on one part of Galkynysh field.
It was reported earlier that Seoul is willing to offer the know-how and take part in new joint projects, as well as assist in the training of local skilled employees.
In autumn, Turkmenistan held a series of international road-show on the TAPI project with the participation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). According to reports from Ashgabat, the heads of U.S. companies Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Britain's BP, BG Group, Germany's RWE, Malaysia's Petronas expressed their intention to participate in the project.
According to the feasibility of the project, the 1735 km long TAPI pipeline will start from the eastern region of Turkmenistan, where the largest gas fields are situated, and, after passing through the territory of Afghanistan and Pakistan will reach settlement of Fazilka (India) on the Pakistani-Indian border.
The capacity of the pipeline is 33 billion cubic meters of gas a year. At this stage, negotiations are held on the formation of the consortium, financing and security, in particular through the troubled Afghanistan.