Turkey to build natural gas plant in Turkmenistan, says minister
Posted by meb at September 4th, 2008
Turkey will build a natural gas power plant and explore for oil and natural gas in Turkmenistan, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Güler has said.
Speaking to the press on Wednesday to share details of his meetings with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov and four ministers of the Turkmen Cabinet, Güler said one item on the agenda was the farming out of exploration and production activities in Caspian oil and gas fields. He also noted that they discussed opportunities to establish alternative energy generating facilities in Turkmenistan such as wind and solar power plants, in which Turkey has know-how and experience.
“We will also construct a natural gas power plant,” he noted, adding, “The Turkish Petroleum Corporation [TPAO] will initiate oil and natural gas exploration in the Caspian region together with Turkmen authorities.” Another item discussed in the meetings was the increase in the quantity of electricity purchased from Turkmenistan. Turkey has been purchasing 600 million kilowatt-hours (Kwh) of electricity annually from this country since 2003.
“My visit to Turkmenistan has nothing to do with recent developments in the Caucasus. It was a scheduled visit,” he said, referring to the brief war fought between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
In an interview with a Turkmen daily on Wednesday, Berdimuhammedov praised the talks with the Turkish minister, noting that these efforts would increase the chances of effecting delivery of Turkmen energy resources to the world. After concluding his visits in Turkmenistan, the minister headed to another Central Asian energy-rich country, Kazakhstan, to seek further opportunities for collaboration on energy. He will return to Turkey on Friday and then will leave for a visit to Azerbaijan at the beginning of next week.
source: Today’s Zaman
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