The volume of production of natural and associated gas in Turkmenistan for seven months of 2021 amounted to almost 48.7 billion cubic meters.  This is more than 9 billion cubic meters higher than the level of production compared to the same period last year.

 Since the beginning of this year, about 27 billion cubic meters of natural gas have been exported, which is 7.3 billion cubic meters more than in seven months of 2020.  At the same time, the growth rate was 137 percent.  The bulk of environmentally friendly «blue fuel» was supplied to the People's Republic of China.

 According to the data of international analytical companies, the demand for natural gas is growing not only in China, but also in other countries of the world.  As the American edition of The Wall Street Journal notes the reason is that over the past year, companies have reduced gas production due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have not yet been able to restore it. In addition, the cold winter and the current hot summer have led to an increase in the demand for gas in the electric power industry.

 The growing demand for natural gas has led to its shortage in the world market, which drives up the prices of both the gas itself and the electricity generated by gas power plants, The Wall Street Journal writes.  In July, gas prices at TTF in the Netherlands – one of the largest gas trading platforms in Europe – reached more than $460 per thousand cubic meters, according to S&P Global Platts.  Gas and electricity prices have also risen to record levels over the past 20 years in Germany, UK, Spain, Italy.

 At an expanded meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on July 9, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov drew attention to the need to intensify work on the construction of underground gas storage facilities in our country to regulate natural gas production and increase the reliability of providing consumers with «blue fuel».