Several developments have occurred this week in what is the rocky and sometimes unpredictable saga of the large gas deposits in Turkmenistan. Firstly, Pakistan’s DAWN newspaper group cited Russia’s ITAR-TASS stating that a representative from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has be quoted as suggesting that the delivery of gas from Turkmenistan’s Daulatabad field might not be possible through the 1,700-km trans-Afghanistan pipeline. The ADB has backed the 3.3 billion dollar project since 2002, and if they were to pull out it would bring even more trouble to a project that has consistently had difficulties in getting off the ground due to its scale and the political instability within Afghanistan. Analysts are suggesting that production forecasts are lower than expected, and it could be this that has placed doubt in the minds of those involved from the ADB.

On a brighter note the Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurov has ordered the national oil and gas company Nafhohaz Ukrayiny to improve the dynamics of payments in goods for Turkmen gas. Also, Iran has decided it needs to import extra gas from Turkmenistan to meet its winter energy demands. Further information on this and other news stories can be found here.