President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chairman of the People’s Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow held an informal meeting in Astana. Among a wide range of issues, they discussed the potential role of Kazakhstan in the development of Galkynysh, a giant gas field in Turkmenistan, as reported by the Akorda.
«Particular attention was paid to the expansion of bilateral cooperation in the gas industry, including Kazakhstan’s participation in the development of the Galkynysh gas field in conjunction with foreign partners,» the president’s press service reported.
The state-owned company Türkmengaz started developing Galkynysh in 2009 in cooperation with CNPC (China), LG International Corp. and Hyundai Engineering (South Korea), and Petrofac and Gulf Oil & Gas FZE (the UAE). In 2013, Turkmenistan and China launched a complex designed to produce commercial-grade gas at the site.
According to Turkmen authorities, the Galkynysh gas field possesses 26.2 trillion cubic meters of gas, making it the second-largest gas field in the world after the South Pars gas field (at the border between Iran and Qatar). So far, the country has invested about $10 billion in the project, including $8 billion provided by China in the form of loans.
The development of the field is planned to be implemented in seven stages. During the current first stage, Turkmenistan has already drilled 52 wells and continues working on an additional 10 wells. Once fully commissioned, Galkynysh is expected to operate for 50 years.
As Tim Davies, business development manager at Gaffney Cline & Associates, revealed at the Turkmenistan Investment Forum in 2024, the government of Turkmenistan, along with its two state-owned concerns Türkmengaz and Türkmennebi, was actively seeking foreign investment to expand exploration work at the Galkynysh, Yashlar and Garakel fields.
Turkmenistan ranks fourth in terms of natural gas reserves after Russia, Iran and Qatar. The biggest buyer of Turkmen gas is China. Furthermore, the country aims to expand its gas exports southward, as the construction of a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan is underway.
During the bilateral meeting, Tokayev also emphasized the significant potential of the future Turgundi-Herat-Kandagar-Spin-Buldak railway. The other two railways playing a key role in the transit potential of Turkmenistan are the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway and the Turkmenbashi-Garabogaz-Kazakhstan motorway, which is currently under construction.
