Follow us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • AppStore
  • RSS
Azernews.Az
Friday March 5 2021
  • Latest
  • Nation
  • World
  • Business
  • Oil & Gas
  • Armenian Aggression
  • Nagorno-karabakh conflict
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Lifestyle
  • Events
  • Healthcare
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Travel
Home
  • Home
  • Nation
  • World
  • Business
  • Oil & Gas
  • Armenian Aggression
  • Nagorno-karabakh conflict
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Lifestyle
  • Events
  • Healthcare
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Travel

Turkmenistan invites foreign investors to develop oil sector in Caspian Sea

28 November 2018 16:49 (UTC+04:00)
3 953

By Leman Mammadova

The Caspian Basin is a region rich in energy and strategically important in terms of regional energy security, since Asian and European main transportation corridors pass through its territtory. Moreover, the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea is extremely rich in promising areas for hydrocarbon explorations.

Over 200 oil and gas fields have been discovered in Turkmenistan so far. According to various estimates, Turkmenistan may possess about 50 trillion cubic meters of gas. In case this data is true, then the Central Asian country occupies the first place in the world in terms of natural gas reserves.

Turkmenistan's resource potential in oil equivalent is 71.2 billion tons, of which 53 billion tons are concentrated onshore, and 18.2 billion tons - on offshore areas.

The Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea is divided into 32 licensed blocks, in five of which oil works are undergoing, Chairman of Turkmen State Oil Concern Dovletdurdy Hajiyev said, according to a message of the company.

"The remaining blocks are the subject of direct non-exclusive negotiations for all interested parties," he noted at the international energy forum in Ashgabat, saying that the priority is to conclude production sharing agreements with foreign companies.

Local experts note that more than 80 percent of the resources of the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea are located in deposits at depths of more than 3,000 meters and in poorly studied areas of oil and gas accumulation. Middle Caspian and South Caspian oil and gas basins are considered promising.

The message reads that under the law of Turkmenistan "On Hydrocarbon Resources" and the concluded production sharing agreements, Turkmenneft successfully cooperates on the implementation of a number of projects with Dragon Oil, Eni, Buried Hill, Mitro International and ARETI companies.

During the talks between Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and CEO of Buried Hill Energy Peter Kallos, the sides discussed the results of joint work and prospects for cooperation, including in the field of exploration and development of oil and gas fields in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea.

In this context, the parties noted significance of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea signed in August this year, which opened up new opportunities for enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation of coastal states with the world business community.

Turkmenistan plans to further explore and develop the promising oil fields on the Caspian Sea shelf. Turkmenneft has already developed a field project. As part of the first stage of field development which will require about $ 600 million , 60 exploration and production wells are planned to be drilled. According to preliminary calculations, the increase in geological reserves of oil is estimated at 38.5 million tons, and in the course of further work, the total reserves of the field can be increased to 87.3 million tons. Turkmenistan plans to attract foreign investment by reimbursing the money spent by a part of the produced oil. For this purpose, Turkmenistan proposes to create a joint venture, where 90 percent of the work will be performed by Turkmenneft, and a potential foreign investor will provide services.

The investments toward the country’s oil and gas sector include three onshore production sharing agreements: the Nebitdag Contractual Territory operated by ENI; the Khazar project operated jointly by the Turkmennebit state oil concern and Mitro International of Austria; and the Bagtyarlyk Contractual Territory operated by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

According to the State Agency for Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources under the president of Turkmenistan, the amount of foreign investments in the development of oil and gas projects exceeded $3 billion in 2014 as part of the production sharing agreements. The Dragon oil company based on the PSA signed in 1999 works on contract area “Cheleken”. The company produces Caspian oil on the fields “Jeitun” and “Jigalibek” and having repaid their investments, get stable profits over a long period of time by selling raw materials mainly through the port of Baku. Malaysia's Petronas is producing oil and gas, London-listed Dragon Oil is extracting oil, while Germany's RWE, Russia's Itera and Cyprus-headquartered Buried Hill are prospecting for oil on the sea shelf.

There is a serious effort to bring Turkmen gas to Europe. Talks on Turkmen gas supplies to Europe are in progress since 2011. The Southern Gas Corridor, including the Trans-Caspian project, remains a priority for the European Union. The length of the gas pipeline extending to the shores of the Caspian Sea at the seabed of the Caspian Sea will be 300 km. In the context of delivery of Turkmen gas to European markets through South Gas Corridor, the ministers of energy of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Vice-President of the European Commission for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic signed the Ashgabat Declaration on energy in May 2015.

At present, the main buyer of Turkmen gas is China. Currently, more than 90 percent of Turkmen gas is supplied to China. As many as 31.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas was imported from Turkmenistan by China in 2017. Turkmenistan is interested in diversification of its export routes to be not depended on a single market. The TAPI gas pipeline (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) is under construction in the south by which Turkmen gas will reach Pakistan in two years. The total cost of the TAPI pipeline is about $ 7 billion. The annual capacity of the gas pipeline will be 33 billion cubic meters.

Turkmengas State Concern holds 85 percent stake on construction and operation of pipeline. Afghanistan, Pakistan and India will each cover 5 percent. Raw material for TAPI will be provided from Galkynysh, the largest natural gas field in Turkmenistan.

The main investor is the Asian Development Bank, which technically and financially supports the project. The Islamic Development Bank has allocated $ 700 million for the construction of the Turkmen part of the pipeline.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

Category News

Russia launches its first Arctic-monitoring satellite

Russia launches its first Arctic-monitoring satellite

1 March 17:50
Iran, Russia emphasize need to coop. in agricultural sector

Iran, Russia emphasize need to coop. in agricultural sector

27 February 17:10
Kazakhstan shows interest in supplies of Belarusian sugar, its manufacturing technology

Kazakhstan shows interest in supplies of Belarusian sugar, its manufacturing technology

27 February 16:14
UN Security Council adopts resolution on vaccination

UN Security Council adopts resolution on vaccination

27 February 15:17
Turkey's tourism industry puts hopes on safety measures for new season

Turkey's tourism industry puts hopes on safety measures for new season

27 February 14:52
European Council extends mandate of special representative for South Caucasus

European Council extends mandate of special representative for South Caucasus

27 February 12:42
FAO outlines strategy for healthy and productive livestock in Europe, Central Asia

FAO outlines strategy for healthy and productive livestock in Europe, Central Asia

27 February 12:00
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan preparing for demarcation of state borders

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan preparing for demarcation of state borders

25 February 17:49
Military coup attempt in Armenia - PM inviting supporters to Republic Square

Military coup attempt in Armenia - PM inviting supporters to Republic Square

25 February 16:58
Armenian General Staff demands Pashinyan's resignation

Armenian General Staff demands Pashinyan's resignation

25 February 16:22
  • Latest
  • Popular
4 March 19:25 • Ensuring security in Karabakh our top priority - Turkish president
4 March 19:13 • Azerbaijan expects creating new broadcasting opportunities for Internet TV, radio channels
4 March 19:00 • Prices for precious metals in Azerbaijan decline
4 March 18:44 • EU invests in micro-entrepreneurship dev't in Azerbaijani districts
4 March 18:28 • Azerbaijani State Customs Committee chairman names most-imported products for 2020
4 March 18:13 • Azerbaijan, Israel mull energy cooperation
4 March 18:10 • Several mines produced by Armenia found in Azerbaijan’s Aghdam district - Trend TV reports [PHOTO/VIDEO]
4 March 18:00 • Buta Airways to launch ticket sales for Baku-Istanbul-Baku Flights
4 March 17:55 • Azerbaijan, Ukraine trade turnover up in January
4 March 17:44 • Azerbaijan, Pakistan discuss military cooperation, joint drills [PHOTO/VIDEO]
4 March 17:27 • South wind expected on Friday
4 March 17:08 • Azerbaijan, Italy mull fulfilment of Karabakh peace deal
4 March 17:00 • Azerbaijan, Turkey to hold joint military exercises [PHOTO]
4 March 16:54 • Country registers 314 new COVID-19 cases
4 March 16:50 • Venezuela always supported Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity - Ambassador
4 March 16:42 • UN must urge Armenia to provide maps of minefields in Azerbaijan's liberated lands
4 March 16:35 • Workers of educational sphere in Baku undergoing COVID-19 vaccination [PHOTO]
4 March 16:19 • Vaccination - best way to protect against infectious diseases - Azerbaijani ministry
4 March 16:13 • Education workers start receiving vaccine jabs
4 March 15:42 • Azerbaijan gives update on number of COVID-19 vaccinated citizens
4 March 12:25 • President Aliyev: Azerbaijan supports Pakistan on all issues, including Kashmir [UPDATE]
4 March 10:17 • Azerbaijan, Turkey to shoot film on Nagorno-Karabakh War
4 March 11:15 • Russia lifts ban on tomatoes, apples import from 27 Azerbaijani enterprises
4 March 10:41 • Azerbaijan urges all wishing regional peace to help fulfil Karabakh peace deal
4 March 19:13 • Azerbaijan expects creating new broadcasting opportunities for Internet TV, radio channels
4 March 10:00 • Fulfillment of Karabakh peace deal key to sustainable peace, security
4 March 17:44 • Azerbaijan, Pakistan discuss military cooperation, joint drills [PHOTO/VIDEO]
4 March 11:35 • No way sabotage-terrorist group members can be considered POWs - Azerbaijani MFA
4 March 13:00 • SOFAZ's revenues from oil, gas fields hit $578m in Jan-Feb
4 March 18:44 • EU invests in micro-entrepreneurship dev't in Azerbaijani districts
4 March 12:14 • Culture Minister meets with art figures in Istanbul [PHOTO]
4 March 16:42 • UN must urge Armenia to provide maps of minefields in Azerbaijan's liberated lands
4 March 12:00 • Police seize Armenian air defence systems in liberated Fuzuli [PHOTO/VIDEO]
4 March 17:00 • Azerbaijan, Turkey to hold joint military exercises [PHOTO]
4 March 13:15 • Azerbaijan, Venezuela discuss opportunities for co-op development
4 March 19:00 • Prices for precious metals in Azerbaijan decline
4 March 13:44 • Azerbaijan raises average monthly pensions by 10 pct
4 March 18:13 • Azerbaijan, Israel mull energy cooperation
4 March 17:55 • Azerbaijan, Ukraine trade turnover up in January
4 March 18:10 • Several mines produced by Armenia found in Azerbaijan’s Aghdam district - Trend TV reports [PHOTO/VIDEO]
See more
AzerNews Newspaper
AzerNews
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • RSS

Information

About us Contacts Advertising Azernews In Print

News Archive

© 2021 AzerNews. All rights reserved