Turkmenistan's Caspian sector priority area for foreign investment

/By AzerNews/

By Aynur Karimova

The development of oil and gas resources in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea is a priority area for investments in the country's oil and gas industry, according to the country's Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister, Muhamentnur Halylov.

Speaking at the Turkmenistan International Oil & Gas Exhibition, the minister said that the country's oil and gas resources in this location are estimated at 12.1 billion tons of oil and 6.1 trillion cubic meters of gas.

The Turkmen section of the Caspian Sea has been divided into 32 licensed blocks. Work is currently underway in five blocks. The remaining blocks are the subject of direct but not exclusive negotiations for all concerned parties.

Halylov said large enterprises are greatly interested in and ready for technological cooperation and making investments in these licensed blocks.

"This testifies to the credibility of the country as a reliable, stable, and responsible partner," he added.

Halylov also noted that the Galkynysh field, the largest of its kind in the world discovered by Turkmen geologists, stands apart from the more than 180 deposits of hydrocarbon resources discovered in Turkmenistan.

"According to an independent audit, the reserves of the Galkynysh field, which ranks second in the world in terms of reserve volume, together with the Yashlar deposits, to date, are estimated at 26.2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, taking into account the reserves of the newly discovered Garakel field included in the block of deposits -- up to 27.4 trillion cubic meters," he stressed.

Halylov further noted that along with the preservation of traditional partnership relations in the energy sector, Turkmenistan has great partnership prospects with the EU in the field of supply of Turkmen natural gas to Europe.

At present, Turkmenistan exports its gas to Russia, China and Iran.

In his remarks, Chairman of Turkmengas State Concern Ashyrguly Begliyev said that Turkmenistan plans to increase gas extraction to 230 billion cubic meters by 2030, some 180 billion cubic meters of which will be exported.

These volumes of gas will allow meeting the increasing domestic and external demands in Turkmenistan's blue fuel, providing the gas-chemical complexes of the country with necessary raw material.

Currently, works are actively underway on the second and third stages of development of the field Galkynysh, as a result of which the production of marketable gas will amount to 93 billion cubic meters. Besides, Turkmengas is developing 30 fields.

Turkmenistan is currently implementing several major projects aimed at increasing the production and export of natural gas, as well as projects for deep processing of gas worth about $20 billion.

"It is planned to start the implementation of several projects in the field of gas chemistry and the chemical industry worth more than $30 billion in the near future," he remarked.

Turkmenistan, which has the fourth largest proven gas reserves in the world, is actively implementing an energy strategy aimed at increasing exports of the blue fuel and diversifying its supply routes to the largest global markets, where the demand for energy resources is growing.

Being one of the key players in the gas market of the Caspian Sea region and Central Asia, Turkmenistan produces about 70-80 billion cubic meters of gas a year. It possesses some 17 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, with some estimates placing that figure upwards of 25 or 26 trillion cubic meters.