Central Asian Media: Turkmenistan Advances Development of World-Class Galkynysh Gas Field to Boost Exports to China
China's representative jointly launched the fourth phase of industrial development at the Galkynysh gas field in Mary Region with former President and current Chairman of the People's Council, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
The Galkynysh gas field is located approximately 400 kilometers southeast of Ashgabat and has been producing natural gas since 2013. It ranks among the world’s largest gas fields. According to British consultancy firm GaffneyCline, the combined natural gas reserves of the Galkynysh field and its neighboring fields—Garakul and Yashlar—are estimated at 27.4 trillion cubic meters.
On April 16, the Turkmenistan State Natural Gas Company signed a turnkey engineering contract for the fourth phase of the Galkynysh gas field development project with CNPC Amu Darya Oil Co., Ltd. This project includes drilling production wells and constructing a commercial natural gas processing plant with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters.
According to industry publication Nebit-Gaz, the development of the Galkynysh gas field is being carried out in stages. The first stage involved building three natural gas processing plants with a total annual processing capacity of 30 billion cubic meters, which are already operational. Stages two, three, and four are planned for launch in the near future. Once fully developed, the field’s total annual output could reach nearly 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
The Galkynysh gas field serves as the primary resource base for Turkmenistan’s natural gas exports to China.
China remains Turkmenistan’s largest buyer of natural gas. The three existing lines (A, B, and C) of the Turkmenistan-China pipeline system currently transport about 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. With the commissioning of the fourth line (D-line), export volumes are expected to increase to approximately 65 billion cubic meters per year.
The resource base of the Galkynysh gas field is a key factor driving the planning of the D-line pipeline, which is expected to significantly enhance natural gas supplies to China.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Guvanchy Agaev of the Turkmen Cabinet, Turkmenistan’s cumulative natural gas exports to China over the past 20 years have exceeded 462 billion cubic meters.
The Galkynysh gas field has also been designated as the resource base for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, currently under construction, with an expected annual transmission capacity of 33 billion cubic meters.
Source: Central Asian Times
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1863129307654154/
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