U.K. consultancy Gaffney, Cline & Associates Ltd. has found that South Yolotan-Osman natural gas field in Turkmenistan has between 4 trillion cubic meters and 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, the Turkmenistan government's Web site has said.
According to the site, Jim Gillett, the consultancy's business development manager, said that the optimal estimation of the field's reserves is 6 trillion cubic meters, which would make it one of the world's five largest fields.
"There is more than sufficient gas to fulfill Turkmenistan's current contract commitments," Gillett was reported as saying, adding that production at the field, which is near the Afghan border, may reach 70 billion cubic meters a year.
The government's site also cited Gillett as saying that Yashlar gas field has between 0.25 trillion cubic meters and 1.5 trillion cubic meters of gas.
Gaffney, Cline and Associates wasn't available Wednesday for immediate confirmation of the Turkmen report which was posted Tuesday.
The international audit, which was expected to be completed by September, was important for Turkmenistan, whose colossal gas reserves are considered to be the resource base for pipeline projects, notably Nabucco, designed to link Central Asia's gas fields with Europe and reduce the continent's reliance on Russian gas supplies.
Turkmenistan currently supplies 50 bcm a year to Russia's OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) and 10 bcm a year to Iran.