Turkmenistan to start production at new gas fields if demand rises

Turkmenistan said it is ready to start production at new gas fields if demand for it goes up on international markets, Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Gurban Nazarov told.
"Today, we are capable of delivering more gas than pipelines will be able to carry," the minister said. He specified that the pipeline network is in a poor state now. "However, repair on gas pipelines is proceeding at speed in Turkmenistan," Nazarov noted.

The minister said that repairs are underway not only on the gas pipelines, but on compressor stations, as well. He said that Ashgabat has signed contracts with western companies to bring systems for gas purification and supplies into line with European standards.
"We are planning to start delivering gas purified under European standards by the summer of 2003," Nazarov said.

Meanwhile, officials from Ashgabat and Kyiv signed a contract to supply 36 bn cm of gas to Ukraine at the cost of $ 44 per thousand cm, an official from the Turkmen presidential administration told.
The contract was signed between Neftegaz Ukrayiny and Turkmenneftegaz corporation. According to the contract, Ukraine will pay for 50 % of the gas supplies with hard currency, and for the remainder with products. In 2002, Ukraine has already received about 24 bn cm of Turkmen natural gas.