By Natalia Konarzewska
March 25th, 2016, The CACI Analyst
In late December 2015, Turkmenistan officially announced the completion of the East-West gas pipeline. This 773 kilometer route with an annual capacity of 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) will connect natural gas from fields located in eastern Turkmenistan to those along its Caspian Sea coast, with the potential of further transfer via the Caspian Sea and onward to the Turkish and European markets. The construction of the pipeline is complementary to Turkmenistan’s current strategy for gas exports. Ashgabat seeks broader export opportunities in Turkey and Europe to reduce its dependence on Russia and China as major gas export outlets. However, despite positive political shifts, which might enhance Turkmenistan’s energy cooperation with Turkey, Azerbaijan and the EU, several obstacles remain to the westward transfer of Turkmenistan’s gas.
- TANAP pipeline
- Shah Deniz II gas field
- Central Asia
- South Caucasus
- Azerbaijan
- Azerbaijan energy infrastructure
- Turkmenistan
- Turkmenistan EastWest gas pipeline
- Caspian Sea
- Turkey
- European Union
- Russia
- Gazprom
- China
- Galkynysh gas field
- China NPC
- Central Asia China pipeline
- TANAP
- TCP
- Russian gas transit Ukraine
- Caspian Summit Astana 2016
- Status of the Caspian Basin
- Astrakhan Summit 2014
- Iran
- EU energy security
- EU energy diversification