Turkmengaz plans gas supplies via Afghan section of TAPI in 2026

Turkmenistan plans to start natural gas supplies through the Afghan section of the TAPI pipeline in 2026, Turkmengaz Chairman Maksat Babaev said at the OGT 2026 conference in Ashgabat. He said construction of the Serhetabat–Herat section is proceeding on schedule. The TAPI pipeline has a design capacity of up to 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

During a working visit by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, National Leader of the Turkmen People, to Afghanistan's Herat Province on August 10, 2026, Turkmengaz and Afghan Gas signed a memorandum of understanding providing, among other things, for gas supplies to Herat Province. Babaev also said the fourth phase of the Galkynysh field, a project partnered with China's CNPC, will include drilling production wells and a commercial gas treatment facility with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters. More than 1,000 jobs are expected upon completion.

Babaev said more than 477 billion cubic meters of gas had been supplied through the Turkmenistan-China pipeline, operating since December 2009, as of October 1, 2026. Turkmenistan continues to diversify its export routes.