A gas field in Turkmenistan has been crowned the second largest deposit ever discovered, potentially transforming the desert nation into a Caspian Qatar.
A new report from Gaffney Cline, the British oil field auditing company, to be released officially next month, has confirmed claims from the former Soviet Republic that many had dismissed as overly optimistic.
"It appears that the South Yolotan field is now easily the world's second largest gas field in terms of gas in place – second only to the North Field and South Pars," Peter Holding, Gaffney Cline's director for Central Asia, said at a conference in the Caspian resort of Awaza.
The report is expected to say that the field could hold 20 trillion cubic metres, enough to supply the UK for more than 350 years, and Europe for more than 50. The compares with the top-level estimate of 14 trillion cubic metres it gave in its 2008 audit, which ranked the field only sixth worldwide.
The development of the giant North Field has made Qatar the world's richest country in terms of per capita income. The field, which is shared with Iran, holds more than 50 trillion cubic metres.
