Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Feb.24 / Trend, H. Hasanov /
Speaking about long-term plans of oil industry during a special government meeting, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov focused on the necessity to increase intensity of the exploration and drilling operations with the development of the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, the Turkmen government said on Friday.
Appealing to the heads of Turkmenneft State Concern and Turkmen Geology State Corporation President Berdimuhammadov "instructed to increase the pace of exploration work to discover new deposits of oil, natural gas and gas condensate in order to increase volume of industrial production of these natural resources".
The Turkmen leader also stressed the importance of the dynamic increase of oil and gas platforms in the zone and the widespread use of the last, advanced technologies in oil production.
President Berdimuhammadov instructed Turkmennneft to accelerate the work on cardinal upgrading of oil pipeline systems, which have been operated for 40-45 years and do not meet modern requirements".
Turkmenistan annually produces about 10 million tons of oil and hopes to increase capacity thanks to the development of the Turkmen section of the Caspian Sea by foreign companies.
Finished products are released at the two oil refineries in Turkmenbashi and Saydi cities. Oil and refining products are transported mainly through Azerbaijan.
Ashgabat invites large companies to participate in the development of hydrocarbon resources in the Turkmen section of Caspian Sea. According to the estimations, there are 11 billion tons of oil and 5.5 trillion cubic meters of gas of projected resources, excluding the contracted blocks.
The Turkmen side considers it a priority to sign the production sharing agreements (PSA) in this area through direct negotiations to develop the Caspian sea.
The Turkmen specialists said that more than 80 percent of hydrocarbon reserves on the continental shelf are in sediments located at a depth of 3,000 meters, as well as poorly studied oil and gas zones. There is still a high probability of discovering new significant oil and gas fields.
New perspectives are associated primarily with two major oil and gas basins - Middle Caspian and South Caspian.