February 2010 Vol. 237 No. 2

Projects

Turkmenistan Opens New Gas Pipeline Into Iran

Turkmenistan last month took another step to reduce its reliance on Russia as an export partner for natural gas, launching a new pipeline link to northeastern Iran.

The Dauletabad-Sarakhs-Khangiran pipeline is the second gas link between the two neighboring countries and will initially allow Turkmenistan to supply another 6 Bcm to Iran annually.

With the existing Korpehze-Kurt Kui pipeline, it may ultimately boost exports to Iran up to 20 Bcm annually. The opening follows December’s launch of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline and enables Turkmenistan to dramatically reshape its gas export portfolio, with Russia becoming just one of its partners, no longer the dominant one.