Turkmenistan refuses Russia access to its gas pipelines to China
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Turkmenistan
has decidedly rejected Moscow’s proposal to create a "gas union" for
the delivery of natural gas to China using existing pipelines on its territory,
according to a press release by the country’s Foreign Ministry on Aug. 12.
The message said that all three branches of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline are fully saturated with gas extracted by Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Ashgabat is clearly not expecting participation of other suppliers.
This reaction was in response to the Russian Foreign Ministry proposing a "trilateral gas alliance" involving Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
According to reports, Dmitriy Birichevsky, Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation of the Russian ministry, stated that Moscow does not dismiss the "possibility of expanding trilateral cooperation in the gas field” and acknowledges that "other countries are also interested.”
“The statement by Birichevsky raises, at a minimum, several questions,” said Deputy Head of state company Turkmengaz, Myrad Archayev.
“What 'opportunities for expansion' are implied, which 'other countries' are interested, and what, in principle, stands behind 'trilateral cooperation' in the gas sector?”
“Currently, three branches of the Turkmenistan-China pipeline are in operation supplying gas from Turkmen deposits in the east and southeast of the country. All three lines, and the production capacities that ensure their operation, were jointly constructed exclusively by Turkmen and Chinese parties – namely Turkmengaz and Chinese oil and gas company CNPC.”
He added that gas supplies from other nations via the pipeline are not anticipated and plans to expand the participants' list for the Turkmenistan-China pipeline project are not included in the current gas volume distribution plan.
Turkmenistan called the Russian statement "a deviation from the norms of international law and the industry practice in the gas sector."
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