ASHGABAT, August 6 (Itar-Tass) —— Turkmenistan has started pumping of gas from the Caspian shelf fields, head of Turkmenistan’s hydrocarbon resources management agency Yashgeldy Kakayev told President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on Friday, the presidential press service reports.
“Industrial gas production on the Turkmen Caspian shelf section is of vital importance not only for the national economy but to Turkmenistan’s entire policy of ensuring global energy security and successful international cooperation in the interests of all countries and nations,” the Turkmen president said.
Industrial gas production and exports from offshore fields began after a big gas processing facility was built in the coastal settlement of Kiyanly in July 2011. The gas terminal was built by the Malaysian company Petronas, which has operated on the Turkmen Caspian shelf since 1996 under a 25-year production sharing agreement signed for the contract area Block-1, which covers the Makhtumkuli, Ovez and Diyarbekir fields. The newly commission facility will produce commercial natural gas in the amount of 5 billion cubic metres at first and eventually 10 billion cubic metres. Apart from it, the company has also built the 53-kilometre Kiyanly-CAC-3 (Central Asia – Centre) gas pipeline for exporting gas both northward to Kazakhstan and Russia, and southward to Iran.
Petronas gas will be pumped to Iran via the Korpedzhe-Kurt Kui gas pipeline, a source in Turkmenistan’s state gas concern Turkmengaz told Itar-Tass. After commissioning of the new gas processing facility, the Malaysian company signed a sales and purchase agreement with Turkmengaz. Sources in Petronas’ Ashgabat office also confirmed that gas from the Turkmen Caspitan shelf will be pumped to Iran.
The independent international company Dragon Oil is also producing hydrocarbons (mainly oil) in Turkmenistan’s offshore fields, which are officially said to contain 12 trillion tons of oil and 6 trillion cubic metres of gas. The Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea has been divided into 32 contract areas.
According to government data, production of natural and associated gas has increased by 140.4 percent in Turkmenistan in the seven months of 2011. Gas exports have gone up by 176.2 percent. Turkmenistan sells its gas to Russia, Iran, and China.