Trans Caspian Resources says Turkmen gas may reach Europe, other countries in need

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. The EU is demonstrating a desire to diversify its natural gas purchases and has begun to take active steps in this direction, Natalie Costello, Director of the Advisory Committee of Trans Caspian Resources company, said during the “Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan” (OGT-2022) forum, Trend reports citing Orient news. The situation in the energy market today forces many countries to reconsider their views on energy security, she said. The issue of capitalizing on the use of existing infrastructure to expand the supply on the gas market through small investments is very relevant, Costello added. At the same time, she said that the project developed by Trans Caspian Resources will make it possible to arrange the supply of Turkmen natural gas to Azerbaijan and further to the South Caucasus, Turkey and other countries that will be in need of gas. The Trans-Caspian Interconnector project is expected to be implemented, which, according to preliminary estimates, will take about four months and will require investments of $400 million. The basis for the implementation of the project will be the infrastructure already available in Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea. Meanwhile, the Trans-Caspian Interconnector will allow for the supply of Turkmen natural gas to Azerbaijan and further to the Transcaucasian region, Turkey and other countries. It will ensure the supply of 10-12 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The Turkmen media outlets say Turkmenistan, for some time, has been in discussions with Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and the EU the possibility of building a gas pipeline with a capacity of 10 billion to 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The total reserves of natural gas in Turkmenistan are estimated at 50 trillion cubic meters. In 2021, Trans Caspian Resources company presented its project of the Trans-Caspian Interconnector, a smaller gas pipeline (compared to the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline) from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan. The entire project at that time was estimated at $500-800 million, and the implementation period was 24 months.