Turkmenoil ups oil and gas production
By Aynur Jafarova
Turkmenistan’s Turkmenoil State Concern produced 4.4 million
metric tons of oil over the 10 months of 2014 at the fields which
are under development, Trend Agency reported with reference to the
Turkmen Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry.
The ministry said the number of the developed sites with
hydrocarbon resources exceeded 25.
Turkmenoil occupies a leading position in Turkmenistan's economy
and is involved in the production of oil and gas, chemicals, stone,
and bentonite. The state concern currently operates about three
dozen fields, including more than 600 oil and gas deposits that are
at various stages of development.
The ministry also noted Turkmenistan increased production of natural and associated gas by 10.8 percent and export of these goods - by 10.6 percent in the first 11 months of 2014 compared to the same period last year.
Energy-rich Turkmenistan has a strong resource base, which is a safe basis for the development of the country’s oil and gas industry.
The country’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.
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.