Turkmenistan sees light at the end of the tunnel

Turkmenistan must overcome economic crisis and political hurdles to reverse its gas exports decline

Resumption of gas exports from Turkmenistan to Russia in mid-April was welcome news for an economy unusually dependent on a single product— natural gas —for its export revenues. On 15 April, following a meeting between Gazprom chief Alexey Miller and the Turkmen president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, in Ashgabat in late March, it was reported that Turkmen gas had flowed across its borders bound for Russia for the first time since January 2016. That was when exports ceased because of a dispute over price and payments. It is a tentative rapprochement. A decade ago Turkmenistan was exporting over 40bn m³/yr of gas to Russia, more than its current exports to China. Neither Gazprom nor Turkmengaz