Oil and gas forum in Ashgabat

The 13th Exhibition Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan – 2008 and the scientific conference that closed in Ashgabat evidenced the intense interest and willingness of Turkmenistan and its foreign partners to enhance long-term mutually advantageous co-operation.

The prestigious oil and gas forum housed by the largest in the Central Asian region Exhibition Centre compelled attention of the business circles across the world. Over 230 oil and gas and service companies from about 35 countries worldwide had sent the delegates to Turkmenistan. The guests – the representative delegations from the EU member states, the Russian Federation, the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, France, Malaysia, Italy, Norway, China, Japan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and others.

The conference organised this year by the Ministry of Oil and Gas and Mineral Resources of Turkmenistan, the State Agency for Hydrocarbon resources Use and Management under President of Turkmenistan and British Summit Trade Events Ltd. Was of special interest to the leading observers of the foreign periodicals, in particular the popular specialized journals – Neftegazovaya Vertikal, Oil & Gas Journal Russia, Territoriya Neftegaz, Neft and Gaz Evraziya, Oil & Gas of Kazakhstan, Petroleum, Caspian Energy that was natural for the reports and presentations made at the conference by the high-head of the sectoral subdivisions that clearly speicified Turkmenistan’s views on further development of the sector and the particular fields of co-operation with long-term as well as potential partners.

It was noted that today the Government of Turkmenistan attached priority significance to overall technology modernization of oil and gas industry and intended to steadily enhance partnership with all countries and companies concerned. The priority trends in development of Turkmenistan’s fuel and energy sector – implementation of the projects on exploration and prospecting of hydrocarbon resources, accelerated commercial development of oil and gas resources on land and in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea and coastal zone, increase of the effectiveness further operation of developed fields, further development of petrochemical and processing industries, expansion of gas transportation infrastructure, application of advanced technologies and equipment, training national specialists.

Diversification of Turkmen energy export to the world market was a focus of the forum agenda. The forum participants noted that Turkmenistan with the hydrocarbon resources of global value demonstrated a very responsible and constructive approach to effective realization of its huge resource potential in the interests of the whole mankind through initiating and successfully implementing the project on creation of the multivariant system for exporting hydrocarbons to the world consumer markets. These included the increase of the gas transportation capacity of the Central Asia-Centre pipeline, construction of the Turkmenistan-China pipeline, the Caspian pipeline, the Trans-Afghan pipeline and other gas mains.

Speaking at the conference the guests representing the companies which had been successfully co-operating with Turkmenistan for many years highly appreciated long-term collaboration fostered by the favourable investment climate in the country. The open door policy pursued by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the political and economic stability and consistent reform of the national legislation in accordance with the international law norms promoted considerably the interest of the business elite worldwide in expanding on the very promising Turkmen market.

The most impressive examples of successful co-operation included reconstruction and technology modernization of the Turkmenbashi oil refineries which ranked among the leading petrochemical enterprises in Turkmenistan as well as in the region. In the near future the project on technology modernization of the large enterprise – Seydi oil refinery that many foreign companies had expressed the willingness to collaborate in would be launched.

Thus, the forum showed that relaying on use of the best international practices and advanced technologies Turkmenistan resolutely advanced along the path of wide international co-operation built on an equal and mutually beneficial basis.

That was provide by the authoritative representation of the traditional international exhibition Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan – 2008 at which dozens of the leading oil and gas and service companies from all over the world presented their products and technologies.

Thousands of the people and guests of Ashgabat visited the exposition organized by the Ministry of Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral resources with the assistance of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan. The exposition became an open platform for the negotiations which had every requisite to grow into long-term co-operation and new joint projects.

The forum participants received the diplomas and certificates.