Turkmenistan’s total geological reserves revealed
By Aynur Jafarova
Energy-rich Turkmenistan’s total geological reserves are estimated at 71.21 billion metric tons of fuel equivalent, some 53.01 billion metric tons of which is the resource reserves of onshore fields, and 18.2 billion metric tons - offshore fields.
These figures were specified in the materials of the Oil and Gas Exhibition and Conference, which is being held in capital Ashgabat on November 18-20.
"A striking example in this regard is the Galkynysh field, which is super giant on the international classification, the arrangement of which involves large foreign firms and companies," the conference materials said.
Turkmenistan is one of the key players in the energy market of the resource-rich Caspian region. The Central Asian state has the world's fourth largest natural gas reserves after Russia, Iran, and Qatar, and produces about 70-80 billion cubic meters of gas each year.
The country implements its energy strategy through accelerated industrial development of new oil and gas fields discovered in the Amu Darya Basin, Central Karakum, on the sea shelf and the coastal zone of the Caspian Sea, and the creation of multi-variant system of supply of Turkmen energy resources to the world markets.
The largest deposits of the country are concentrated in the Mary region in the east of Turkmenistan as well.
Turkmenistan intends to increase the production volume and export of natural gas, and diversify its routes of supply to major world markets as part of an energy strategy.
Under a program for oil and gas development, the country's annual natural gas production is planned to reach 250 billion cubic meters by 2030, mostly for export purposes.
Currently, domestic products are exported to more than 40 world countries, including Turkey, China, Russia, UAE, Iran, Germany, U.S., UK, Ukraine and Switzerland.