The international oil and gas conference "Turkmenistan-Europe: Prospects for Cooperation", organised by the Ministry of Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources of Turkmenistan, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan, and British company Summit took place on March 14 - 15, 2012 in Berlin (Germany) at the prestigious Hotel Adlon Kempinski.
Turkmenistan Oil & Gas Road Show visited Berlin in 2012; it is a part of a series of conferences originally inaugurated in Singapore in 2011. By visiting foreign investors, the oil and gas sector of Turkmenistan allows the international community a better insight into the wealth of available investment opportunities in Turkmenistan's oil and gas as well as to reinforce existing relationships and to establish new business affiliations in order to demonstrate that Turkmenistan is a country open for international dialogue regarding implementation of new oil and gas projects, and to strengthen Turkmenistan's image in the international arena as a stable and long term partner.
The conference focused on presenting investment opportunities in Turkmenistan to regional and international community by holding meetings and discussions of key issues that are integral to the effective and successful development of the country's hydrocarbon resources. The main aim of the conference was to attract foreign investment and latest technology as well as to promote the oil and gas sector of Turkmenistan to the global community.
Over 300 delegates representing 130 organisations from 34 countries participated in the conference. International representation included official government delegations from several countries around Europe, Asia, CIS and the USA, major international companies, SME's, educational institutions as well as local and international press and specialised industry publications
Delegates from the following countries took part in the Berlin Conference: Austria; Azerbaijan; Belgium; Bulgaria; Canada; China; Finland; France; Germany; Hungary; Iran; Israel; Italy; Japan; Kazakhstan; Korea; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Malaysia; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Qatar; Romania; Russia; Singapore; Spain; Switzerland; Turkey; Turkmenistan; UAE; UK; Ukraine; USA, and Vietnam.
"Development of oil and gas industry is one of the priority directions in reforms deployed in all sectors of national economy. Currently in our country, several important deposits are being assimilated. Among them, it is necessary to mention one, Galkynysh. The audit of reserves of this field allowed to define gas reserves as 26 trillion 200 billion cubic meters. By definitions of the specialists of international auditor's company it is a large deposit located in Amudariya river basin, and it is the second largest natural gas reserve in the world. The same fact means that Turkmenistan has good opportunities in developing international trade and economic cooperation," the welcome address of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov to the conference participants says.
The official delegation included heads of the oil and gas sector of Turkmenistan and was led by Baymyrad Hojamuhamedov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan.
An extensive conference programme included questions about the role of Turkmenistan's oil and gas industry, and a special focus on Europe. The conference agenda also reflected priorities of Turkmenistan's oil and gas sector and investment opportunities, particularly in oil, gas, and chemical industries.
The conference also provided foreign operators with the opportunity to share their experience of working in Turkmenistan. Furthermore, Turkmenistan Oil and Gas Road Show addressed the expansion of economic relations with European countries as well as the increase of foreign investments in the economy of Turkmenistan. In addition, the conference addressed continuous increase and competitiveness of national producers in the world energy markets.
The sponsors include: Platinum Sponsor: RWE; Silver Sponsors: Dragon Oil, ExxonMobil, Sumitomo Corporation; Bronze Sponsors: BP, CNPC, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Eni S.p.A., GAC Marine, Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd, INTEK Energy, LG International, Mitro International, SAP AG, Schlumberger, Shell, Veya Investments, and Wintershall AG.
The Organising Committee scheduled individual meetings between the members of the official Turkmen delegation and conference participants (in total, 138 meetings were conducted).
On March 13 the members of Turkmen Delegation visited the Siemens gas turbine production plant located in Berlin.
Throughout March 14, first day of the conference, participants discussed issues relating to the growing role of Turkmenistan in the international oil and gas industry, with particular focus on Europe, which is considered a dynamically developing energy consuming market.
During the second day of the conference, participants continued to discuss a wide range of investment opportunities and issues. Management from national oil and gas sector of Turkmenistan presented on various aspects of foreign investments on the development of offshore fields in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian. Some of the foreign companies, already operating in Turkmenistan, have also shared their experience. Issues of investment opportunities in transportation, gas processing, oil refining, and petrochemicals were raised in the last session of the conference.
In addition, two more events relating to oil and gas, will take place this year in Turkmenistan:
1) Turkmenistan Gas Congress, May 23-24, in Avaza, Turkmenbashi
2) 17th International Oil and Gas conference, Nov.14-16, Ashgabat
