Turkmenistan making moves to diversify energy exports
Turkmengaz deputy chairman Myrat Archayev said the first section of the TAPI pipeline, running from Turkmenistan's border to the western Afghan city of Herat, should be finished by the end of 2026, and that roughly 80 percent of the 153-kilometer stretch from Serhetabat to Herat has been completed. He said Ashgabat now views the long-planned trans-Caspian pipeline as a priority, while China currently accounts for the bulk of Turkmenistan's gas exports.
Why it matters: The diversification effort bears on the briefing's energy theme, since Turkmenistan's search for export routes beyond China bears on the viability of Caspian and South Asian transit projects.