Turkmenistan inaugurated a pipeline on Saturday that will help boost exports of natural gas to Russia. The 200-kilometer route links reserves in the barren Karakum desert to a compressor station that feeds into the Soviet-built Central-Asia-Center pipeline, which carries gas to Russia. The route has been created despite Moscow's flagging interest in buying Turkmen gas.
Although itself rich in gas, Russia has traditionally bought cheaper Central Asian energy supplies while selling its own reserves to European customers at much higher prices. Last year, Russia abruptly suspended its imports from Turkmenistan amid mutual accusations over responsibility for a pipeline blast in April. Deliveries resumed in January 2010, but at much smaller quantities.
State-owned Turkmengaz says that Russian gas imports are expected to reach about 10 billion cubic meters this year, down from the annual 40 billion cubic meters it bought previously. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is set to arrive in Turkmenistan for a two-day visit Wednesday in a sign that relations between the two former Soviet nations may be on the mend.
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