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Exclusive: European Union sees supplies of natural gas from Turkmenistan by 2019

ASHGABAT (Reuters) – The European Union, keen to lessen its dependence on Russia for energy supplies, expects to start receiving natural gas from Turkmenistan by 2019, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said in an interview. Russia currently supplies around a third of Europe’s gas needs, but Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and its involvement in the military conflict in eastern Ukraine has added urgency to the EU’s search for gas from alternative sources. "We have good mutual understanding. For Turkmenistan it is very important to diversify its export options, while for the EU it is very important to diversify its imports," Sefcovic told Reuters in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat. "Europe expects supplies of Turkmen gas to begin by 2019," he said, speaking in Russian. Turkmenistan, a Central Asian nation with the world’s fourth-largest reserves of natural gas, is keen to diversify exports of the fuel away from Russia which […]

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TAPI to get project developer by early 2015

Parties to a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan agree to set wheels in motion by early 2015. UPI/Hamid Forotan/ISNA The four parties to the Turkmenistan- Afghanistan -Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline want to have a credible operator in place for the $10 billion project by the time members of the steering committee meet again in Islamabad in February. "All sides agreed that steps will be taken to start the project by 2015," project leaders said in a statement. French energy company Total was mentioned as a possible consortium leader, though it balked after Turkmenistan refused to offer it a stake in the Galkynysh natural gas field near the border of Afghanistan. It’s one of the largest gas fields in the world, with an estimated 925 trillion cubic feet of reserves, and is designated to feed the multilateral pipeline . None of the state-led companies in either of the countries involved have […]

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U.S. lauds TAPI natural gas pipeline progress

U.S. welcomes creating of joint venture entity to steer development of a gas pipeline stretching east from Turkmenistan. UPI/Hamid Forotan The governments of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan , India and Pakistan last week created a joint venture project to steer a pipeline that would send natural gas eastward from Turkmenistan. "The United States government welcomes the establishment of TAPI Ltd. and the ongoing commitment all four countries have made to the project," an unnamed State Department official was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying Wednesday. Twice during press conferences this week, State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke sidestepped questions on the project , saying he did not have the information on hand. Pakistani and Afghan leaders met separately this week to discuss implementation of the project, with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani saying it would ensure multilateral economic development . The government of Turkmenistan is hosting its Afghan, Pakistan and […]

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Eni extends relationship with Turkmenistan

Italian energy company Eni commits long-term to Turkmenistan. (UPI/Shutterstock/smereka) ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Nov. 18 (UPI) — Italian energy company Eni said Tuesday it signed an extension to a production agreement for operations onshore and offshore Turkmenistan. Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi signed an addendum to the existing contract in Turkmenistan with his counterparts in Turkmenistan. The agreement extends the duration of the contract to 2032 and includes a separate agreement for the potential extension of Eni’s operations into the waters of the Caspian Sea. Eni provided no estimate of the expected reserve benefits of the addendum to its production sharing agreement. The Central Asian country is one of the largest natural gas producers in the world and exports most of its natural gas to China. Last year, the country opened its Galkynysh natural gas field near the border of Afghanistan . It’s one of the largest gas fields in […]

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