Turkmenistan has plenty of gas for Europe

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- There is no need for European consumers to worry about the supply of natural gas, the deputy prime minister of Turkmenistan said.

Europe is trying to break Russia's grip on the energy sector by finding new sources of natural gas for its planned Nabucco pipeline. Despite political support for the project, suppliers are slow to commit to the pipeline.

Baimurad Khodzhamukhamedov, the deputy prime minister of Turkmenistan, was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying Europe had nothing to worry about.

"There is no need for European countries to worry," he said. "We are building an infrastructure designed for 1.4 trillion cubic feet of gas."

That volume is more than enough to fill Nabucco, an alternative to Russia's plans to build its South Stream gas pipeline through southern Europe.

Turkmenistan has the fourth-richest gas reserves in the world. It was a major gas partner with Russia, though the relationship was damaged after gas monopoly Gazprom was blamed for a major pipeline explosion last year.

The country is also looking at Western-backed rival to an Iranian pipeline that would cross Afghan and Pakistani territory on its way to India.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2010/11/22/Turkmenistan-has-plenty-of-gas-for-Europe/UPI-73871290429676/.