New gas field found in Turkmenistan
By Fatma Babayeva
The industrial flow of the natural gas was discovered in the first exploration well of the new promising field Giurgiu, the Turkmen Oil and Gas Ministry reported on May 6.
The well was drilled by the Turkmen Geology State Corporation in the territory of Mary region located in the south-east of Turkmenistan near the rich gas field Galkynysh.
Daily flow rate at the well amounts more than 600,000 cubic meters of natural gas per day, and the orifice (diameter of the flow through pipe) is 20 millimeters, according to the results of the preliminary tests.
The powerful industrial inflow of the natural gas was obtained at a depth of over 4,600 meters in the carbonate deposits belonging to the Oxfordian Age.
Moreover, the close location of the Giurgiu field to the well-known giant Galkynysh gas field is promising great prospects for the new field.
The field expands even more gas-bearing zone than Galkynysh field which confirms its possible extension that predicted earlier by the 3D seismic survey method.
At the moment, other prospective areas are also being tested at Giurgiu field.
The estimated total reserves of the Galkynysh field together with the adjacent Yashlar field amounts to 26.2 trillion cubic meters of gas, according to the results of the independent audit carried out by the British Gaffney, Cline & Associates. If the reserves in newly discovered Garakel field are also added to this figure, the block's reserves rise to 27.4 trillion cubic meters.
Moreover, 9 new wells are set to begin production at Galkynysh field by the end of 2016. Turkmenistan plans to add the extracted gas from this field to its exports China.
After Russia stopped buying Turkmen gas, the country directed this gas to other markets. In addition, Turkmenistan commenced the construction of its section of TAPI pipeline recently. Meanwhile, the country plans to enlarge its LNG exports as well. Currently, the country sells LNG to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Iran and Tajikistan.
According to the BP statistical review of 2015, Turkmenistan holds 9.3 percent of the world’s total proven natural gas reserves and produced 2 percent (70 billion cubic meters) of the world’s total blue fuel output.
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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva
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