Turkmenistan awarded Russia’s Itera the $177 million turnkey contract for the 200- kilometre pipeline in early 2009, following Turkmen state company Turkmengeologia’s gas discovery at the South Gutlyayak block in Central Karakumy.
The $153 million first stage of the project aims to achieve a throughput capacity of 3 billion cubic metres per annum, according to Itera president Igor Makarov.
The new pipeline will enable gas from the Zeagly-Darvazy group of fields to be delivered to the Central Asia-Centre trunkline, which runs through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to Russia, where it joins a pipeline system enabling gas exports to Ukraine and Europe.
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