Tag Archives: Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan’s anti-corruption drive speeds up

MAY 19 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan is preparing a new draft law on combating corruption, continuing an anti-graft drive that has left onlookers wondering the motivation behind it. Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has said that the anti-corruption campaign is aimed at defending ordinary people’s rights but analysts have said it may be a tool to distract from the economic downturn, linked to a drop in commodity prices, and also a way to unseat ministers and officials that are considered to be too powerful.

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(News report from Issue No. 329, published on May 20 2017)

Uzbek President travels to meet Berdy, again

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MAY 19 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev travelled to Turkmenistan for the second time in 10 weeks, an indication of just how important he regards bilateral relations. Mr Mirziyoyev’s interest in Turkmenistan lies in stark contrast to his predecessor, Islam Karimov, who preferred an isolationist stance. Mr Mirziyoyev’s first overseas trip as president was made to Ashgabat in March.

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(News report from Issue No. 329, published on May 20 2017)

Turkmenistan touts new gas field discovery

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MAY 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a boost for its ambitions to become the region’s top gas exporter, Turkmenistan said that it had discovered a potentially large gas field near the Caspian Sea.

New gas field finds, especially of the size touted by Turkmenistan, are rare and the announcement created excitement in the oil and gas sector.

“According to the preliminary estimates, the well’s productivity is 500,000 cubic meters of natural gas and 150 tonnes of gas condensate per day, which confirms the huge hydrocarbon potential of the coastal zone and the shallow waters of the Caspian Sea,” the state-owned news agency Turkmenistan Today said of the discovery at the Uzunada area.

“Increasing hydrocarbon production is one of the priorities of the domestic fuel and energy complex.”

Turkmenistan’s economy is heavily skewed towards gas exports, mainly from the Galkynysh field, the second largest in the world, in the east of the country. A pipeline from the field feeds gas directly to China and a new pipeline is being built that will pump gas to Pakistan and India.

Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has talked of diversifying the Turkmen economy towards fertilizer and electricity production, but gas still dominates. The fall in gas prices has hit it hard and even forced a rare admission of economic weakness, with a cut to the manat currency in 2015.

If the new field was commercially exploited and did manage to produce at the rate of 500,000 cubic metres of gas per day claimed by Turkmenistan, it would add significant capacity to the country’s overall production. The Galkynysh field produces gas at around 1.7m – 2m cubic metres per day.

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(News report from Issue No. 328, published on May 12 2017)

John Deere tractors arrive to Turkmenistan

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MAY 9 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan has ordered 1,350 pieces of equipment from US tractor maker John Deere, media reported. The first equipment to arrive in Ashgabat were 50 combine harvesters. More equipment is expected later this year.

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(News report from Issue No. 328, published on May 12 2017)

Iran says it is ready to sue Turkmenistan over gas cuts

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MAY 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iranian officials said they were ready to sue Turkmenistan in an international arbitration court for cutting gas supplies this winter, ramping up tension between the neighbours.

The announcement highlights just how far relations between Iran and Turkmenistan have splintered since Turkmen officials said last year that Iran hadn’t paid a $1.8b bill for gas delivered in 2007 and 2008.

In a statement quoted by Iranian media, Hamid Reza Araqi, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said Turkmenistan had failed its commitments.

“The price of gas, the damage they inflicted on Iran in winter by cutting off gas supplies, and the quality of gas delivered to Iran are three cases claimed by Iran,” he was quoted as saying. “Iran’s documents are ready to be submitted to the International Court of Arbitration.”

To some extent the row shows the strain an economic downturn has put countries and their leaders under. Before Turkmen officials accused Iran of reneging on bills, relations had been improving every month. As well as gas supplies Turkmen electricity was being imported, political links had been strengthened and there was talk of Iran providing Turkmenistan with access to the Persian Gulf through a swap system.

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(News report from Issue No. 328, published on May 12 2017)

Turkmen president sacks Prosecutor for bribe-taking

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MAY 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov fired General Prosecutor Amanmyrat Halliyev and 10 junior prosecutors for bride-taking.

Last month, Mr Berdymukhamedov sacked his energy minister in one of his semi-regular government reshuffles which his opponents say shows his insecurities.

It is unclear what bribes Mr Halliyev, 43, is accused of taking.

He had been General Prosecutor since 2013 and before that had been head of the Supreme Court. The day before Mr Halliyev was sacked, the 51-year old deputy PM for industry, Batyr Ereshov, died from unknown causes. He was one of the more prominent members of Mr Bedymukhamedov’s cabinet.

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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)

Pipeline from Turkmenistan to India to complete by 2020

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MAY 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Pakistan’s ministry of natural resources said that it expected the TAPI gas pipeline running from Turkmenistan to northern India to be completed on schedule in 2020. The pipeline is considered vital for Turkmenistan’s economy and also for consumers in Pakistan and India who are hungry for more power.

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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)

Turkmenistan opens tender for potash plant construction

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APRIL 17 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan opened a tender process to build a second potash plant, only a couple of weeks after opening the country’s first one. The move appears to be part of a drive aimed at reducing the country’s reliance on gas exports. The price of gas has collapsed since 2014, hitting Turkmenistan’s economy hard. Belarus designed and built the first potash plant but, despite pledges of loyalty and partnership, the contract to build the second plant appears to have been thrown open to all potential suitors.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

Turkmen president signs decree smoking by 2025

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APRIL 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov signed a decree that will ban all cigarette smoking by 2025, making good on his promise to turn Turkmenistan into the world’s first smoking-free country.

Mr Berdymukhamedov has already banned selling cigarettes, making a show of burning piles of them.

There were no specific details of what Mr Berdymukhamedov had in mind with his ban on smoking but the move does fit with his drive to promote health and exercise in the country. He has starred in weight- lifting videos and has been depicted out jogging.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

Turkmen president travels to Kazakhstan

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APRIL 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymkuhamedov travelled to Astana to meet with Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev and sign a deal which they said marked the end of any border disputes between the two neighbours. Both sides said that the deal meant that the borders would now be fixed.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)