Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 1
By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:
The longest gas pipeline on Turkmenistan's territory, East-West pipeline will be commissioned soon. The country's leadership attaches great importance to this. The general contractor of the pipeline is Turkmengaz state concern.
This pipeline will link the fields in Turkmenistan's east with its west part on the coast of the Caspian Sea from where there can be an opportunity to enter the world markets - Europe - through the Caspian Sea and Russia along the coast of the sea.
The Caspian Coastal Pipeline, through Kazakhstan to Russia, halted after a decrease in Turkmen gas purchases by Gazprom.
This is while the negotiations on the project for construction of 300-kilometers long Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline to the Azerbaijani coast to re-export Turkmen gas to Europe through Turkey have been intensified, citing the recent Ashgabat meeting of top managers on energy from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Turkey and EU.
Previously, Turkmenistan expressed readiness to supply up to 40 billion cubic meters of gas to EU per year, with 10 billion cubic meters provided by Malaysian Petronas operating at Turkmenistan's offshore block.
The rest of this volume could be provided with the construction of the East-West pipeline that runs from Galkynysh field to the Caspian Sea coast.
The total resource reserves of the Galkynysh field and the nearby Yashlar field are estimated at 26.2 trillion cubic meters of gas, according to the Gaffney, Cline & Associates (UK), which conducted the audit of these two fields.
A new East-West gas pipeline with a capacity of 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year is needed to ensure maneuver efficiency of the directions of gas export flows, improve the reliability of the domestic gas supply.
The estimated cost of the pipeline construction is more than $2 billion. Foreign companies are also attracted to contract works.
The main line is being built from the Shatlyk gas compressor station in the Mary province to the Belek gas compressor station in Balkan province. This gas artery will become the largest one in the country with its diameter being 1,420 mm while its length will be 766 kilometers.
The project was launched May 31, 2010 on the territory of the Shatlyk gas compressor station.
Seven powerful gas compressor stations will be built for clear and uninterrupted operation of the new gas main line, which will pass through the territory of the three provinces.
"One doesn't need to be an expert to see the advantages the pipeline will give," according to local analysts. "Its capabilities in the reverse of gas pumping will allow carrying out the supplies of "blue fuel" in both the east and the promising west direction."
Edited by CN