Turkmen-China gas pipeline nears completion

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) -- Work has been completed on the Turkmen section of a pipeline that is due to begin transporting natural gas from the energy-rich Central Asian nation to China by the end of the year, state media reported.

The announcement that the new 7,000-kilometer (4,300-mile) Central Asian energy route is nearing completion comes as Turkmenistan remains mired in a dispute with Russia over gas deliveries.

The 188-kilometer (117-mile) Turkmen section leads from the Malai gas field in the east of the country to the border with Uzbekistan and was built by pipeline construction company Stroitransgaz, a subsidiary of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, at a cost of around $600 million.

Turkmenistan has hailed the pipeline as key to reducing its dependence on Russia, which has had a lock on most of the reclusive desert nation’s gas exports in recent years.

“Transporting gas supplies to China will mark another important milestone in the successful implementation of Turkmenistan’s strategy to diversify energy export routes to world markets,” state newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan reported.

The leaders of Turkmenistan, China and Uzbekistan are scheduled to attend an inauguration ceremony for the pipeline on Dec. 15.

In June, China clinched a 30-year deal to buy up to 40 billion cubic meters (1.4 trillion cubic feet) from Turkmenistan annually starting next year.

Turkmenistan has until recently sold most of its gas to Russia. However, supplies have been suspended since a pipeline blast in April that Turkmenistan blames on Gazprom. The pipeline has been fixed, but deliveries to Russia have not resumed, which some international experts have estimated may be costing Turkmenistan $1 billion in monthly losses.

Turkmenistan has also frequently expressed interest in exporting its gas to the West, which would require the construction of a costly new pipeline.

Western nations are pinning their hopes of tapping into Central Asia’s vast gas supplies on the success of Nabucco, a pipeline project backed by the United States and the European Union but whose commercial viability is threatened by rival routes proposed by Russia.

Nabucco would deliver gas from the Caspian Sea region via the Caucasus, bypassing Russia. It would decrease dependence on existing and planned Russian pipelines to Europe, which gets about one-quarter of its gas from Russia.

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