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posted by: noreply@blogger.com
091118 :Is Turkmenistan really a 'global player'?
Turkmenistan is an important gas producer/exporter in the post-soviet area and may once become an important player in Eurasian region. It's actual significance will depend on realization of it's energy policy goals and ability to diversify further its gas export routes. This year Turkmenistan will start exporting gas to China and has increased twice its export capacity in Iranian direction. These developments are of quite big importance, and especially gas pipeline to gas/energy hungry China can increase Turkmenistan's role as gas exporting country.
We also witness this year Turkmenistan's struggle for resumption of gas supplies to Russia on terms favorable for Ashabad, and forectast that this struggle can last for a few months more (as gas demand is not growing too fast and as Gazprom itself has agreed to sell smaller-than-contracted quantities to Ukraine in 2009/2010). This means Turkmenistan is a player, and it plays it's game inter alia with worlds biggest gas producer and exporter. But it seems to me that to become an important actor, the significant one influencing international gas market developments opening of an export route connecting Turkmenistan with Europe (alternative to Russian corridor) is needed. This could make from Turkmenistan an element of a greater concept of energy security architecturte in Eurasian continent.
But this is quite difficult to say when it can be realized or even if it happens at all. This years experience has shown that Turkmenistans need to find alternative to Russian buyers for its gas and it's quest for partners in Europe has not resulted in any sound political agreements or deals. EU has not been too much visibly lobbying for it's priority Southern Corridor in Central Asia nor in Turkmenistan itself, US appear to distance themselves more and more from gas developments not only in Caspian region but in the whole CIS area, and beside RWE no Western energy companies got deeper engaged in Turkmen gas sectorMon Dec 07, 09:48:24 AM CST
Eric Watkins joined Oil & Gas Journal in 2001 as Middle East Correspondent and now serves as its Oil Diplomacy Editor, drawing out the industry’s political implications. His column Watching the World appears weekly in Oil & Gas Journal, while his news articles appear daily on Oil & Gas Journal Online. Eric’s work is based on his experience as a correspondent in the Middle East, Europe, and Central Asia. He lived in Saudi Arabia, 1981-88; Yemen, 1989-94; the UK, 1988-89 and 1994-2000; and Cyprus, 2000-04. Additional assignments have taken him to Africa, the Arabian Gulf, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
