Turkmenistan: International Companies Line Up for Slice of East-West Pipeline

More than 70 companies have answered an international tender to build Turkmenistan's East-West gas spur -- and the applications keep arriving, authorities claim. The $1.5 billion project includes not only the construction of a 1,000-kilometer pipeline that may or may not pump Turkmen gas into Russia, but also several gas compressor stations.

The controversial project was put to international tender in March after a rocky meeting between President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The East-West spur is supposed to hook up with the Prikaspiiski pipeline and funnel Turkmenistan's vast gas reserves directly into the hands of Gazprom.

Ashgabat, however, is hedging its bets on a "multi-vectored" distribution of its gas wealth and in an apparent snub to Gazprom -- which considered its participation in the project to be a done deal -- opened an international competition for its construction.

Russian, European and Chinese companies are now vying for the contract, the Turkmen state news agency reported on May 27.