Turkmenistan inaugurated Wednesday a $3.4 billion petrochemical plant as the Central Asian state seeks to both obtain greater value from natural gas and reduce its reliance on exporting it to China and Iran.
The plant should produce 386,000 tonnes of polyethylene and more than 81,000 tonnes of polypropylene -- both used to make plastic -- by processing 5 billion cubic metres of gas per year, according to fuel and energy chief Myratgeldi Meredov.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who participated in the opening of the facility on the coast of the Caspian Sea, said it is part of the country's "extensive plans to diversify the Turkmen energy complex, to increase the economy's export potential by launching production of gas and chemical products that are in demand on the global markets."