ASHGABAT, February 4 (RIA Novosti) - Oil production
in Turkmenistan will increase to 10.9 million tons in 2009,
regional media said on Wednesday, citing an announcement at a
Turkmen-British Energy Business Forum.
The forum was held in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat and
involved the Central Asian state's Oil and Gas Industry and
Mineral Resources Ministry and Foreign Ministry, as well as the
British Embassy in Turkmenistan.
It was also announced during the forum that Turkmenistan
would produce up to 75 billion cubic meters of natural gas this
year, the majority of it for export.
In 2008, Turkmenistan produced 70.5 billion cubic meters
of gas, of which 47 billion was exported. The main consumer of
Turkmen natural gas is the Russian gas giant Gazprom, which on
average purchases some 50 billion cubic meters of gas annually
from the former Soviet republic.
The forum's participants also noted that during 2009 the
construction of gas pipelines in Turkmenistan would continue to
see rapid development. However, there was no information on
which pipelines were discussed at the forum.
A pipeline between Turkmenistan and China is making good
progress. However, it has not yet been revealed when the
project will be commissioned. Work on another pipeline, to be
laid jointly by Turkmenistan, Russia and Kazakhstan, is due to
start this year in the Caspian Sea area.
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