Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov. 16
By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects that Turkmenistan's economic growth will reach 10 per cent in 2013, the same figure is expected in the coming 2014, the bank's report said on Nov. 15.
The report said that the Central Asia's economic growth will remain relatively high due to a number of major projects for the extraction of natural resources.
"It is expected that the growth of Turkmenistan's GDP in 2013 will reach 10 per cent following the start of development of a new gas field ... and (as a result) the further diversification of export routes," the EBRD said.
EBRD estimates Turkmenistan's GDP growth in 2012 in the mentioned data at 11.1 per cent, and at 9.9 per cent over the first nine months of 2013.
The EBRD report says that the stable growth rate can be explained by the implementation of major public construction projects in Turkmenistan and increase of gas exports to China.
Turkmenistan is one of the key players in the energy market of the Caspian Sea region. Raw materials are continuously being exported to Russia and Iran. A route to China which is a strategic buyer of this valuable raw material was opened in 2009. It strives to bring the annual import of Turkmen gas up to 65 billion cubic meters.
The largest fields in Turkmenistan are concentrated in Mary province in the country's eastern sector. The total resources of the Galkynysh and Yashlar fields estimated by local geologists and UK firm GCA hit 26.2 trillion cubic meters.
The operations at Galkynysh field have been carried out since 2009 on the basis of the service contracts. Turkmengas State Concern instructed such companies as CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Company Limited (China), LG International Corp, Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd (South Korea), Petrofac International LLC and Gulf Oil & Gas FZE (UAE) to conduct a complex of work at service terms.
Within the first phase, the facilities for the production of 30 billion cubic meters of tank gas per year were installed at the Galkynysh field in early September 2013. During the same period Turkmenistan and China agreed to start negotiations on financing of the second stage of the development of Galkynysh field.