Turkmenistan Targets 80 bcm of Gas, Eyes Trans-Caspian Route

Turkmenistan plans to produce about 80 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas in 2026 and expects a similar level in 2027, Maksat Babayev, Minister of State and Chairman of the State Concern Turkmengaz, said in Ashgabat on 24 October. Speaking at a press conference on the results of the Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan (OGT 2026) conference, he said the country remains interested in a Trans-Caspian gas route, which depends on wider Caspian infrastructure, including transport and logistics, Trend reported.

About 40 billion cubic metres of Turkmen gas currently goes to China and Uzbekistan, Babayev said. The oil output target for 2026 is 8 million tonnes, up from 7.5 million tonnes last year. Seven bidders, including companies from Austria, Germany and Türkiye, are competing in a tender to develop underground gas storage.

The Turkmen government had already reported strong output this year. The country fulfilled its plan for natural and associated gas production by 109.1% in January to September, according to Cabinet of Ministers figures reported by Trend.

Galkynysh and TAPI set the direction

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov's message to the conference, which ran from 21 to 23 October, named the Galkynysh field as the key base for expanding exports and pointed to the launch of its fourth development phase in April 2026, according to Trend. Babayev said gas from that phase is planned for both export and domestic use. The president also highlighted the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline and said work on offshore blocks in the Caspian Sea would continue.

On TAPI, Babayev said the Serhetabat to Herat section should be completed by the end of 2026, with deliveries to Afghanistan from mid-2027, depending partly on the readiness of the Afghan side. Gas for Europe through the South Caucasus remains a longer-term option with no timeline, capacity or investment figure attached.

The event itself was a government priority. At a Cabinet of Ministers meeting on 17 October, the president instructed Deputy Chairman G. Agajanov to ensure a high organisational level for the conference, held under the motto "Energy. Cooperation. Development.", according to the Turkmen government. Babayev said about 700 foreign delegates from 75 countries attended, 40% more than the previous year.

Azerbaijan pitches routes west

Azerbaijan used the conference to offer itself as a transit partner. Kamal Abbasov, Deputy Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan, proposed studying whether electricity generated in Turkmenistan could be exported to European countries through Azerbaijan, Trend reported. He said Azerbaijan is working with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on the Central Asia-Azerbaijan Green Energy Corridor, which would carry renewable power from Central Asia through Azerbaijan to Europe.

Abbasov also said SOCAR is interested in supplying, trading and refining Turkmen crude oil and petroleum products in Azerbaijan for export. About 10 million tonnes of Turkmen-origin oil was shipped to international markets through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline between 2023 and August 2026, he said. President Berdimuhamedov visited Azerbaijan on 22 and 23 June 2026, when the two sides signed a joint statement and an intergovernmental energy cooperation agreement.

What it means for the region

For Azerbaijan and Georgia, Turkmen volumes are a potential source of new cargo for the westbound Caspian routes. Central Asian oil already moves through BTC: KazTransOil's transshipment into the pipeline rose 24% in the first nine months, CBJ reported. Abbasov's electricity proposal would add a potential supplier to the Caspian-Black Sea-Europe Green Energy Corridor, whose cost was put at €22.1 billion, as CBJ reported on 25 October.

The gas numbers set the limits. With about half of an 80 billion cubic metre output already committed to China and Uzbekistan, and TAPI due to start deliveries in 2027, any westbound gas would compete with those buyers for supply from fields such as Galkynysh. Turkmen officials gave no date for a Trans-Caspian decision, so the near-term business for South Caucasus routes lies in oil, oil products and, if the proposal advances, electricity.