Turkmenistan and Russia were unable to renew their gas supply contract due to disagreements over pricing, according to Maksat Babayev, head of the company Turkmengaz, TASS reports.
The previous five-year contract, active since 2019, expired on June 30, 2024, and included provisions for the delivery of up to 5.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually. Babayev stated that Turkmengaz has other buyers for the remaining gas volumes but mentioned that a new contract with Gazprom is still possible in the future.
"The revised price under the contract had to be agreed upon by June 30. Since we couldn't reach a compromise, the contract was terminated," Babayev explained during a press conference held at the International Conference and Exhibition "Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan-2024" (OGT 2024) in Ashgabat.
Experts note that Gazprom traditionally signed contracts with both Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan but now appears to be shifting focus towards the domestic market.
Babayev also mentioned ongoing negotiations regarding the construction of the fourth line of the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China, which would enhance gas exports.
During the same conference, Murman Margvelashvili, Director of Energy Research at a Georgian analytical center, emphasized Central Asia’s potential to play a global role in meeting energy demand, particularly by supplying gas to Europe. However, Turkmenistan remains China’s primary supplier and cannot fully meet European demand.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
October 29, 2024