US Department of State: Turkmenistan has large hydrocarbon reserves for export to Europe
Nathan Reich, an energy diplomacy expert at the US Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources, said in an interview with Trend News Agency that Turkmenistan has huge reserves of condensate and natural gas that could be exported to the Caucasus, Turkey and Europe in the long term. According to the American diplomat, companies would like to develop and export them. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and possibly Europe, could consume natural gas from Turkmenistan. This would promote the diversification of the export markets of Turkmenistan, and provide the country with a new source of long-term income. Turkmenistan, which has 10.1% of the world’s gas reserves, is fourth in the world by this indicator. According to the State Statistics of Turkmenistan, over 70 billion cubic meters of gas have been produced for the last two years, which is about 2% of the world production. However, the country’s potential is much higher. The amount of proved gas reserves, the attainment of the design capacity by the existing and the construction of new gas pipelines are important factors for increasing hydrocarbon production. Not so long ago, during a joint meeting of representatives of the European Commission and the World Bank with the Advisor to the President of Turkmenistan on oil and gas issues, heads of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, banking institutions, as well as the Turkmengaz SC, options for possible future deliveries of Turkmen gas to Europe, actions under the joint Trust Fund and energy security in the region were discussed.
