Russian gas giant Gazprom (OGZPY) and Turkmenistan on Thursday reached an agreement on a planned gas pipeline linking the energy-rich central Asian country to Russia, the company said.
Gazprom said Chief Executive Alexei Miller and the chair of the Turkmen cabinet, Tachberdy Tagyev, had agreed the technical parameters of a key stretch of the Caspian pipeline, which aims to give Russia more access to Turkmen gas.
"During the meeting, agreements were reached on the basic foundations for the technical assignment on the construction of the Turkmen portion of the Caspian pipeline," Gazprom said in a statement.
Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan agreed to build the Caspian pipeline in December 2007. According to Gazprom, it would be able to carry 30 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan to Russia annually.
Turkmenistan exports virtually all its gas via Russian territory, but Western countries as well as China have sought greater access to the country's enormous reserves.
The former Soviet republic has been pursuing closer ties to the West since the death of longtime dictator Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006.