Turkmenistan: Chinese Credit Sought for Giant Gas Field

Turkmen energy and banking bureaucrats will be dispatched to China on June 1 to secure additional financing for the country's energy industry.

Speaking at cabinet meeting on May 28, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said Turkmenistan needs to be ready for "short term changes in the global energy market" and called for the rapid development of the country's gas reserves. The aim of the Chinese trip is to net billions of dollars in credits to develop the Yoloten gas field, news agencies reported on May 28.

Beijing is bankrolling a number of Central Asian and Siberian energy projects and is keen to lock in future fuel supplies at bargain prices. The Yoloten gas field is part of the Southern Yoloten-Osman deposit near the Turkmen-Iranian border. An appraisal by a British firm, Gaffney, Cline & Associates, indicated that the deposit contains at least 4 trillion cubic meters of gas, and perhaps as much as 14 trillion.