The International Forum «Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan» has the longest history among all specialized international industry conferences held in the country since independence. And this is not surprising. Thanks to the abundant hydrocarbon reserves, Turkmenistan has firmly established itself as a permanent member of the world club of owners of the richest natural resources. And therefore, the international business community, making profits on the extraction and processing of hydrocarbons, has a permanent, rather than seasonal, interest in Turkmenistan.
The twenty-ninth conference brought together heads of the fuel and energy, chemical, financial and banking sectors of Turkmenistan, as well as specialists from a number of research institutes, to give impetus to the implementation of joint investment projects and discuss promising areas of cooperation in the field of hydrocarbon resource extraction, their processing and safe delivery to consumers, environmental aspects of the use of hydrocarbon deposits, international requirements for environmental protection and the importance of producing alternative energy sources. The participation of representatives of many countries in the conference testified to the fact that Turkmenistan’s attractiveness to international investors is increasing every year.
According to a good tradition, on the eve of the forum opening, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov conveyed a congratulatory and welcoming message to the participants and guests of the forum. He noted that “the annual industry exhibition and conference ‘Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan’ serve as a platform for constructive discussions of priorities in the development of the national fuel and energy complex, ways to intensify targeted mutually beneficial partnerships, methods of introducing new technologies in the oil and gas sector and modernization of production facilities... The international conference and exhibition will play a significant role in the context of exchanging experience and opinions between domestic specialists and foreign partners and establishing broad cooperation in the future.”
The main exhibitors included the State Concerns Turkmenneft, Turkmengaz, Turkmenhimiya, the State Corporation Turkmengeologiya, as well as dozens of industry enterprises and private entrepreneurs operating in the fuel and energy sector who presented their production potential. Companies from Azerbaijan, China, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, the Russian Federation, Singapore, the USA, Turkey, Japan and other countries set up their stands with offers of cooperation next to the Turkmen participants of the exhibition.
The specialized forum demonstrated the opportunities for cooperation with foreign partners in priority areas of development of Turkmenistan’s fuel and energy sector. These include the development of existing and optimization of production at new onshore oil and gas fields, development of offshore blocks in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, diversification of pipeline routes for energy exports....
As was noted, the energy sector, being one of the main branches of Turkmenistan’s economy, occupies an important place both in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and in Turkmenistan’s exports (almost 80 per cent). This has become possible due to the gradual implementation of major projects in the country aimed at developing the production potential of the industry’s enterprises, increasing production, processing and export of energy resources.
Today, no one doubts the fact that projects for construction of oil and gas pipelines, exploration and development of new oil and gas fields, as well as creation of related infrastructure have brought Turkmenistan to the ranks of the leading energy powers. The country has created favorable conditions for domestic and foreign investments in projects for development and extraction of raw materials, hydrocarbon reserves and construction of trunk pipelines.
The topic of deep processing of natural gas in Turkmenistan stood out in the statements delivered at the conference. This is quite natural in the current situation when international geopolitical risks are significantly increasing and the structure of supply and demand in the energy sector is changing profoundly at the global and regional levels.
One of the central topics of discussion was the statement by Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan Mammetguly Astanagulov, who emphasized the importance of diversifying the country’s gas industry and increasing exports of natural gas processing products. According to him, Turkmenistan has placed its main emphasis on deep and complex processing of natural gas. This approach will not only help reduce the risks associated with exports of raw energy resources but will also allow the country to significantly diversify the commodity structure of exports through finished gas chemical products which are in demand in foreign markets. The availability of huge natural gas reserves in the country’s subsoil will provide the existing plants and those planned for construction with raw materials for many decades to come. And Turkmenistan’s favourable geopolitical position makes it possible to supply gas chemical products by sea and land transport to various destinations on the Eurasian continent.
The conference discussed in detail the current issues of the global oil and gas industry, such as environmental aspects of hydrocarbon production and new export routes. In this regard, one of the interesting speeches was made by Zhang Daowei, Deputy General Director of CNPC. He emphasized that despite the rapid growth of renewable energy sources, oil and gas will remain key components of global energy consumption, accounting for more than 50 percent by 2050. According to him, the global energy transformation driven by climate change opens up new opportunities for international cooperation. Turkmenistan plays a key role in this process due to its rich natural gas resources. Today, the volume of gas trade between China and Turkmenistan is only increasing, and cooperation is deepening, especially in the field of green energy and low-carbon technologies.
In his statement, Deputy Prime Minister Batyr Amanov highlighted the main areas and important projects for the development of Turkmenistan’s oil and gas industry. Among the priorities he named cooperation in the construction of the Turkmenistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan – India gas pipeline and development of licensed offshore complexes in the Turkmen part of the Caspian Sea through foreign investments. Cooperation in the field of oil and gas science and introduction of new technologies, including the creation of underground gas storage facilities, is among the topical issues. He stressed that building up the capacities of the gas chemical industry and increasing the volume of gas processing and products should be the priority task in the development of Turkmenistan’s fuel and energy complex.
Most of the participants of the international conference «Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan – 2024» spoke of global trends in the development of energy markets and opportunities for cooperation. The key messages of the reports and statements focused on the development of new and optimization of existing oil and gas fields, attracting foreign investment, energy transition, implementation of innovations, reduction of carbon emissions, as well as the development of low-carbon fuel and underground gas storage technologies.
The thematic sessions discussed a wide range of issues, including the prospects for Turkmen gas, the role of technological innovation in the energy transition, and the environmental aspects of hydrocarbon resource extraction. The participants in the discussions emphasized the importance of creating new routes for energy trade and also stressed the need to address energy security and environmental issues.
The hosts of the forum drew the participants’ attention to the favourable investment climate created in the country to attract foreign investment, including tax incentives. Particular attention was paid to the role of the oil and gas industry in Turkmenistan’s economy, which contributes to the expansion of the country’s export opportunities.