Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 25
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The investments in the amount of about $8 billion have been spent for the industrial development of the "Galkynysh" gas field (Mary region, Turkmenistan), President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said, speaking at a meeting of the People's Assembly (Parliament) of Turkmenistan Sept. 25, the state news agency "Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary" (TDKh) reported.
The meeting of the People's Assembly, which is now the supreme legislative body of the country, is currently being held in the Turkmen capital at the Rukhiyet Palace. The head of state has called the formation of new industries that provide diversification of export opportunities, as well as the network of multidirectional supply pipelines as the reference points of Turkmenistan's energy strategy.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that the large-scale investment projects implemented in recent years, in particular, the construction of new gas pipelines to China and Iran, as well as the ongoing construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, can be considered as Turkmenistan's contribution to the development of international energy cooperation.
This, in turn, has a positive impact on the overall situation and development in the Central Asian region, turning it into one of the energy centers of world importance, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said.
Galkynysh is the second largest gas field in the world and is already one of the primary sources of Turkmen gas supplies to China.
The reserves of this deposit together with deposits of "Yashlar" and "Garakel" total 27.4 trillion cubic meters of gas, according to independent audit.
It was reported in July 2017 that Turkmenistan plans to start the third stage of development of Galkynysh field, which will increase the production capacity by another 33 billion cubic meters of commercial gas per year with the expectation of supplies to South Asia.
To date, production facilities of the first stage, with a capacity of 30 billion cubic meters of commercial gas per year, have been commissioned here, and in 2014 the second stage was launched with a similar capacity.
Turkmenistan ranks fourth in terms of natural gas reserves in the world according to the BP report, and at this stage has the capability to export it to China and Iran with the prospect of increasing the supplies.