Turkmenistan holds the world’s fourth proven natural gas reserves, today it ranks among the main suppliers of “blue-sky fuel” in the Central Asian region.Due to its favorable geopolitical position and rich deposits of hydrocarbons, our country has a huge potential for increasing gas export to various destinations, including European and Asian markets.
An obvious example of this is the Turkmenistan-China transnational gas pipeline, which embodies the idea to recreate the Silk Route, uniting the Eurasian continent’s peoples for thousands of years.
In accordance with the intergovernmental agreements, in the short term, the Turkmen gas deliveries to P.R.C.will rise till 65 billion cubic meters.A construction project of the fourth branch (D) of this largest energy main pipeline is being actively developed.
Nowadays, the 214-kilometer Turkmen section of the TurkmenistanAfghanistanPakistanIndia (TAPI) gas pipeline is rapidly laid.The technical work, related to the implementation of this project in the territory of Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been launched.
The construction of TAPI, which will be the long-term Turkmen gas supplier to the countries of South-East Asia, will give a powerful impetus to the region’s economic development, and promote solution of social and humanitarian problems, consolidation of peace and stability.
Among the actual tasks is the resource base sector expansion, including through industrial development of advance oil and gas fields in the Turkmen sector and the Caspian Sea nearshore, the Amu-Darya basin, and the Central Karakum.
The “Galkynysh” gas field is rapidly settled, resources of which, according to an independent audit, in conjunction with the “Yashlar” and “Garakyol” deposits, today, are measured in 27 trillion cubic meters.
Here, it was commissioned a complex of objects, allowing to produce 30 billion cubic meters of marketable gas per year, similar complexes of the same capacity are being constructed, designed to provide with “blue-sky fuel” the TAPI pipeline under construction.
Today, the territory of Turkmenistan is of great interest in terms of the quest for new hydrocarbon accumulations.Exploration work is resumed at the producing fields, aimed at the study of deep-laying structures up to 7 km.
In particular, in the west of the country, there were 3D seismic surveys using modern equipment and software at the “Goturdepe” deposit.The next in turn is the “Barsagelmes” field, where the 3D seismic survey will cover 345 square kilometers.
In addition, seismic works are in prospect to be executed by the 2D method in the territory of the “Darja”, and it is 870 linear kilometers.The “Northern Goturdepe” field, where a new oil reservoir was opened at a depth of more than 4 thousand meters, may be mentioned as an illustration, confirming the current activities.
The “Turkmenneft” State Concern specialists drilled superdeep 7,150-meter wellbore over the area of “Uzynada”, located in the Caspian Sea region.As a result of geophysical studies and logs, obtained during the well sampling within the range of 6,689-6,695 meters, there was received commercial inflow of “blue-sky fuel”.
According to preliminary estimates, the well efficiency amounts to 500 thousand cubic meters of natural gas and 150 tons of gas condensate per day.Along with increase of oil and gas production, creation of a multi-vector system of the Turkmen energy resources transportation to the world markets, much attention is paid to diversification of oil and gas industry, construction of large industrial facilities, specializing in the processing of hydrocarbon raw materials, particularly relating to petrochemical, gas chemical and chemical industries, electric power.
Based on the market research of the regional and global markets, existing and forecasting demand for gas-chemical products, it was developed the program of further development of gas and petrochemical industries, scheduled for the next ten years.
Among its upcoming trends is the creation of large polymers industries.In particular, it is planned to reconstruct the natural gas processing and liquefied gas outlet installation on the “Bagaja” field in Lebap velayat and on this basis to build a gas chemical complex with the capacity of 80 thousand tons of butadiene-styrene rubber and 45 thousand tons of polystyrene per year.
Major investment project is proposed to implement on the Central Karakum deposits, located close to the Iylanly gas-compressor plant in the Dashoguz velayat.Here, it is planned to build a plant, which will process 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas and produce 70 thousand tons of liquefied gas annually.
The second phase of this enterprise objects is intended for the production of 200 thousand tons of low density polyethylene per year.In the village of Kiyanly of Balkan velayats, it is planned to build a gas chemical complex for the production of 200 thousand tons of linear low density polyethylene, 390 thousand tons of polypropylene, 100 thousand tons of polyvinylchloride, 10 thousand tons of liquid gas, 82 thousand tons of caustic soda and 10 thousand tons of hydrochloric acid per year.
Also, it will be annually processed 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 117 thousand tons of commercial salt.And this is only a small part of the projects that the “Turkmengaz” State Concern is planning to carry out within the next ten years.
Thus, Turkmenistan will significantly expand its positions not only in the market of primary energy resources such as natural gas and crude oil, but will take a worthy place on the market of gas and chemical products.
According to experts, the demand for gasoline A-95 and diesel fuel will increase twofold by 2030 in the country.On this basis, it is developed a set of measures on further expanding capacities of the Turkmenbashi Refinery Complex and Seyidi Refinery.
Along with this, the technical and economic expediency of setup for benzene production, which is necessary for preparation of polystyrene and rubbers, is under investigation.The construction of benzene recovery plants will allow the Turkmen petrochemists to completely displace the production of gasolines, conforming to the Euro-5 standards, set the production of high-quality synthetic oils.
It is explored the possibility of industrial production of graphite from petroleum coke.The primary consignment of this product has already been procured on an experimental installation, mounted at the metallurgic plant in Ovadandepe.