Russia eyes new imports of Turkmen gas

Russia hopes to resume pipeline imports of natural gas from Turkmenistan after slashing them in 2015 in a dispute over pricing.

According to Radio Free Europe, Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Aleksei Miller told an interviewer from a state-controlled television station in Ashgabat that he expects purchases to restart early next year.

Miller said details of a new purchase agreement remain to be negotiated.

He was part of a Russian delegation meeting in the Turkmen capital with President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Russia imported 10 billion cu m (bcm)/year from Turkmenistan during 2010-14 but trimmed the amount to 4 bcm/year in 2015. It halted purchases of Turkmen gas in 2016, leaving China as the Caspian country’s main gas customer.