Iran, Turkmenistan to Form Oil and Gas Committee : Iran and Turkmenistan will establish an oil and gas committee to bolster energy ties, head of Iran’s Presidential Office, Mahmoud Vaezi, was quoted as saying by Shana on Saturday.

According to the report of the Oil Ministry’s news outlet, Vaezi’s remarks came after a recent meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, and other officials from the country. “Even though it was a short visit, it had good achievements and we hope the ground would be ready for developing cooperation and interactions between the two countries,” Vaezi said.

The official added that his visit followed a recent meeting of the presidents of the two neighbors, and many important topics were discussed in the meeting with Turkmen president which “can set the roadmap for furthering cooperation by the two states”. Upgrading the level of economic relations between the two countries to about $60 billion was one of the goals set by the two sides, the official said.

“By preparing this road map, over the next 10 years, the two countries will have advanced cooperation in the fields of industry, trade, transport and engineering services. They will also enforce a number of agreements which were struck in the past but were left idle,” Vaezi added.

According to BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2018, Turkmenistan holds the world’s fourth largest proven natural gas reserves, which stood at 19.5 trillion cubic meters (tcm) as of the end of 2017. With a 10.1 percent share in the total proven gas reserves in the world, it is right behind Qatar which holds 24.9 tcm, and a 12.9 percent share.

Iran is ranked second with 33.2 tcm, and a 17.2 percent share, while Russia has the largest proven natural reserves with 35 tcm, holding a 18.1 percent share. Source: aa.com