West woos gas-rich Turkmenistan
ASHGABAT (AFP) — Top EU and US energy officials were in Turkmenistan on Thursday amid signs that the gas-rich Central Asian state was interested in opening its gas reserves to the West, bypassing Russia.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is "positive" about selling gas directly to the European Union, EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs told journalists after meeting the Turkmen leader in the capital Ashgabat.
Speaking later at an oil and gas conference, US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman urged the ex-Soviet country to open up its export routes, welcoming signs from the Turkmen leadership that "all possibilities would be considered."
The United States and Europe are hoping to secure more access to the country's reserves, among the largest in the world according to some estimates.
Although there has been no independent audit of Turkmenistan's gas reserves, they have been estimated at 2.1 trillion cubic meters, a figure that has attracted the attention of China, Russia and Iran, all keen to secure a share.
In particular, Europe wants to secure direct deliveries of gas to Europe, bypassing Russia, which enjoys a virtual monopoly on Turkmenistan's pipelines.
Turkmen gas is now sold for 100 dollars per 1,000 square meter, less than half the price for which Russia sells to the EU.
"The response to the possibility of buying Turkmen gas directly was positive," Piebalgs told journalists. "But today we do not have any precise gas pipeline proposals, we are still at the stage of studying possibilities."
To help reduce its energy dependence on Moscow, the EU is hoping to convince Ashgabat to build a gas pipeline under the Caspian Sea.
"Europe is ready to propose a concrete price to Turkmenistan" for its gas, Piebalgs said later during the conference.
Berdymukhamedov said Turkmenistan is open to investment in the production of Turkmen gas, specifically in the Caspian Sea, Piebalgs said.
Also addressing the conference, US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Turkmenistan had "dramatic opportunities to improve the lives of its citizens."
"There is much concern about the lack of export capacity for oil and gas. Companies developing and producing these reserves will need certainty that commercial pipeline export options will be developed," he said.
"It is clear that Turkmenistan will need a new export option. And it is welcome news that the President of Turkmenistan has said that all the possibilities will be considered."
Attention on Turkmen gas reserves have increased since the death last December of eccentric dictator Saparmurat Niyazov. His successor Berdymukhamedov has signalled he is open to closer relations with foreign investors.
During recent trips to New York and Brussels, Berdymukhamedov said that negotiations with Russia on news pipelines and a new gas price were difficult.
So far the only concrete agreement Turkmenistan has signed is for a large pipeline to China.
