Cooperation in the gas industry is one of the priority areas on the agenda of international meetings of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. This topic and related issues are given great importance during visits to different countries of the world or during receptions of high-ranking officials. After all, gas is one of the key energy resources that contribute to strengthening strategic interstate and regional partnerships and strengthening economic ties.

Evidence of this is the Turkmen-Iranian high-level talks held in Tehran on August 28 this year. As is known, during his working visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the National Leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov met with the President of the IRI Masoud Pezeshkian and with high-ranking officials of the state, and the gas industry, in which the friendly countries have been interacting for many years, was invariably named among the main areas of economic cooperation. 

The Hero-Arkadag confirmed Turkmenistan’s readiness to expand the scope of Turkmen natural gas supplies to Iran. In the near future, the Swap scheme envisages exporting Turkmen natural gas to the Republic of Iraq and further to Türkiye.

Among the documents signed following the Turkmen-Iranian negotiations was the Memorandum of Understanding between the Türkmengaz State Concern and the National Gas Company of Iran on the development of cooperation in the field of natural gas, which reflects the commitment of the two fraternal countries to intensify cooperation in the gas sphere.

Oil and gas are not just resources, they are the engine that drives the economy of Turkmenistan. Today, thanks to the active support of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, a large-scale modernization and development program is being implemented in the sector. The stable operation of enterprises, the efficient use of rich resource bases and the expansion of export opportunities play a key role in strengthening the country’s economic potential.

Particular attention is paid to building up gas potential and diversifying energy supplies to world markets. The implementation of large investment projects contributes not only to GDP growth, but also to the creation of new jobs, the development of infrastructure and an increase in the standard of living of the population. At the same time, Turkmenistan is actively introducing modern technologies to minimize the negative impact on the environment.

Turkmenistan, which has colossal gas resources, is actively developing a multi-vector infrastructure for exporting environmentally friendly fuel to world markets. The giant Galkynyş field, whose resources, together with the Ýaşlar and Garaköl fields, are estimated at almost 27 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, ensures the country’s energy independence and strengthens its position in the global energy market.

The commissioning of the world’s largest gas field, Galkynyş, allowed Turkmenistan to take the fourth place in the world in terms of natural gas resources. Today, this field is a guarantor of reliable supply of raw materials for international projects, including the Turkmenistan–China interstate gas pipeline and the strategically important Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India gas pipeline.

Currently, the first stage of the Galkynyş field development is in pilot operation. The operating fund of production wells there is 52 units. Currently, 10 wells are in active drilling. At the same time, the average design gas flow rate is 1.5 million cubic meters of gas a day, and the potential capabilities of the bed make it possible to operate wells with a flow rate of more than 2 million cubic meters of gas a day for a long time.

Today, as part of the first stage of the development of the Galkynyş field, there are three wells there, the original design and correct placement of which made it possible to achieve a design gas flow rate from each well of about 3 million cubic meters a day, which has been stably maintained for one and a half years of their operation.

In the future, the number of wells and the rate of gas extraction will increase. According to scientists’ forecasts, in the future, with the implementation of seven stages of the development of the giant Galkynyş field, the annual production of natural gas throughout the field will reach about 200 billion cubic meters of “blue fuel”. 

At present, the Türkmengaz State Concern has the technical capacity to supply Turkmen gas in the southern direction. 

During the negotiations held in July this year in Ashgabat, issues of expanding gas cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran were discussed. Following the negotiations, a contract was signed providing for the supply of up to 10 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas to Iraq in transit through Iran under the Swap scheme.

To implement this project, Iranian companies are to build a new 125-km gas pipeline in Turkmenistan and three gas compressor stations necessary for the supply of additional gas to Iran. In addition, it is planned to increase the volume of Turkmen gas supplies to Iran in the Dovletabad–Serakhs–Khangeran direction and through the Çaloýuk gas metering station up to 40 billion cubic meters a year. 

The successful implementation of this project will contribute to strengthening the bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.

Great prospects are also associated with the development of deposits in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea. Today, experts estimate its resources at 12.1 billion tons of oil and condensate and 6.1 trillion cubic meters of gas.

Being a world energy power, Turkmenistan, under the leadership of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, demonstrates a constructive approach to solving issues of the effective realization of its colossal energy potential. With establishing productive contacts with dozens of countries of the world and large foreign companies with solid experience and advanced technologies in various fields, the country has proven itself to be a responsible and reliable partner. The scale of the tasks being solved today in the oil and gas complex opens up great opportunities for broad international cooperation in this sphere on the terms of real economic benefits.

Thus, by prioritizing deeper and more comprehensive processing of natural gas, Turkmenistan will not only strengthen its position in the global energy market as a major supplier of energy resources, but will also qualitatively change the nature of its presence on it by diversifying the commodity structure of energy exports and actively developing new forms of international cooperation. 

Ussa Ussayev,

Editor-in-Chief of the Nebit-Gaz newspaper.