At the beginning of November 2018, at the annual oil and gas conference ADIPEC, held in Abu Dhabi, presidential adviser to Turkmenistan Yagshygeldy Kakaev reported that the republic continues to negotiate on the possible supply of natural gas to the European market. Representatives of the European Union at the talks with the delegation of Turkmenistan expressed their willingness to help attract investment for the construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline. At the same time, a statement was made at the same site that in two years the Turkmen pipeline gas would reach Pakistan, whose developing economy is in dire need of energy. Gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan will be supplied via the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India international gas pipeline (TAPI). Despite the criticism of the project, the implementation of the TAPI project is actively progressing. Stakeholders progressively resolve all issues, including in the field of security and financing. The immediate start of construction of TAPI started in the middle of December 2015 in Mary. The Afghan site began to build on February 23, 2018. In Pakistan, the project route has been determined, engineering and survey works have been completed, preparatory work has been launched to start construction directly.. India has repeatedly declared its interest in the implementation of TAPI, the pipeline gas from which today has no alternative. In light of US anti-Iranian sanctions, reanimation of the Mir gas pipeline project also looks vague. Other projects for the supply of pipeline gas to India and Pakistan today do not have any specific outlines and are at the announcement stage.. It is noteworthy that the USA has repeatedly declared support for TAPI. On November 7, 2018, it became known that Russia is considering the possibility of participating in the IHP TAPI project.. However, Turkmenistan is not limited to the diversification of pipeline gas export destinations.. The government of the country is actively developing the gas chemical industry in the country.. The priority is to increase the capacity for the production of mineral fertilizers and polymer products. Large Japanese, South Korean and Turkish corporations demonstrate investment activity in the implementation of gas chemical industry projects for the production of polymer products. In September 2018, the complex began to work in the village of Kiyanly, which processes 5 billion. cube. meters of gas per year and produces 386 thousand. tons of polyethylene and 81 thousand. tons of granulated polypropylene. The construction of a complex for the production of high-quality gasoline from natural gas is being completed jointly by the Japanese company Kawasaki and the Turkish Ronesans Holding.. It will process 1 billion 785 million cubic meters annually.. meters of natural gas and produced 600 thousand tons of gasoline. American business represented by General Elektrik is developing a partnership in the development of the export-oriented electric power industry based on the generation of electricity from gas fuel.. While the main gas supplier develops diversification potential, energy demand in China is increasing. In 2017, the Chinese economy consumed 237.3 billion. cubic meters of gas. Internally, the production of "blue fuel" in the Middle Kingdom last year amounted to 147.4 billion. cubic meters, imports - 89.9 billion. The share of Turkmen pipeline gas in the entire import basket (pipeline gas and LNG) was 36%. At the same time, 86.5% of pipeline gas imports come from the Turkmen. An important factor is the trade war imposed on China by the US. One of the reciprocal steps of the Middle Kingdom was the refusal to purchase American liquefied gas.. In the current political situation, growth in demand for pipeline gas in the Chinese economy was expected.. The expert environment is unanimous in the opinion that the growing economy of China will increasingly need energy raw materials, for which the pipeline gas is currently the most optimal. The start of Russian gas supplies under the IHP “Power of Siberia” is expected in 2019. At the same time to reach the design capacity of 38 billion. cubic meters for technical reasons, the supplier will take time, and China needs gas today. But, the Power of Siberia is not able to meet the growing need of the Chinese economy, which has set a course for the abandonment of environmentally harmful and not so economically profitable coal energy.. Against the background of the active diversification policy of the Turkmen authorities, China’s position on gas purchases from the republic does not look so unambiguous..

In other words, with the planned export of Turkmen gas to Europe, coupled with the activation of the TAPI project, as well as the growth of domestic processing of gas into a more diversified commodity - refined products, China is losing the status of the largest buyer of Turkmen energy resources, and the Turkmen side is strengthening its bargaining position with its customers. But if the parties comply with all the initial financial conditions, Turkmenistan is fully able to increase the volume of gas exports to China too.. In this light, China, in order not to lose stable and economically profitable sources of energy raw materials, will need to offer Turkmenistan more favorable conditions for further cooperation..