The President of Turkmenistan visited the world's largest gas field “Galkynysh”
Ýolöten - Turkmenistan, 03 January, 2022
Today, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov made a working trip to the Mary velayat, during which he visited the world's largest gas field Galkynysh, getting acquainted with the prospects for developing new deposits, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reports.
During the flight, the head of state got acquainted with the content of printed publications published in the country, and also, having called by phone, instructed Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers Mammethan Chakyev to constantly keep in the spotlight issues related to improving the activities of the agency “Turkmen Airlines” implementation of advanced world experience in its work.
Upon arrival at the Galkynysh field, the President of Turkmenistan was presented with drawings and diagrams with detailed information about the promising fields identified by specialists in this region, as well as methods for their development, taking into account the environmental component.
Located 50 km from the regional center of Mary near the border with Iran and Afghanistan, the largest field in the south of Turkmenistan with an area of 1842 km² was discovered in November 2006. Then it was called South Iolotan. On November 18, 2011, the President of Turkmenistan signed a Resolution ordering to name the South Iolotan-Osman, Minara and adjacent fields as the Galkynysh gas field. Operation began in the summer of 2013.
The Galkynysh field is the second largest gas field in the world. The independent British company Gafney, Cline & Associates has increased its estimate of the reserves of the Galkynysh field (together with the associated Yashlar field) from 26.2 trillion cubic meters to 27.4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. The growth of reserves was ensured by the discovery of the accompanying Garakel field, which is also included in this block of fields.
At the Galkynysh field, Hyundai Engineering CO. LTD (Republic of Korea), CNPC (People's Republic of China) and Petrofac International LLC (United Arab Emirates) have built and operate three large gas processing complexes for desulfurization with a total capacity of 30 billion cubic meters of commercial gas per year.
The Director of the Scientific Research Institute of Natural Gas of the State Concern "Turkmengaz" reported to the leader of the nation on the work done to study the rich reserves of hydrocarbon resources, the development of advanced practices of modern science to increase the volume of their processing. It was also reported about the training of specialists in this field, their research work in accordance with the requirements of the time.
Then the chairman of the State Corporation "Turkmengeology" reported on the geological exploration work carried out in different parts of the country, on their features, and scientific experiments carried out in this area. As noted, the discovery of rich hydrocarbon deposits requires a scientific approach.
The Chairman of the State Concern "Turkmengas" reported on the investments directed to the development of the industry and the ongoing comprehensive work to improve its efficiency. As noted earlier, the emphasis is on increasing the volume of natural gas production, as well as diversifying its transportation.
Further, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Sh. Abdrakhmanov, who is in charge of the fuel and energy complex, reported on the current state of affairs in the industry, steps taken to increase its export potential, as well as drilling new oil and gas wells.
As noted, the work of the fuel and energy complex, which is one of the key sectors of the economy, is constantly being improved, advanced world experience and innovative technologies are being actively introduced. This contributes to the development and steady increase in the production capacity of the complex, including the processing industry.
As emphasized, the use of the country's natural resources in industry will contribute to the prosperity of a sovereign state, the strengthening of the national economy, and the steady increase in the standard of living of the people. At the same time, investment projects implemented in the fuel and energy sector contribute to the further development of mutually beneficial international cooperation.
Continuing the conversation about this, the leader of the nation highlighted the Günorta Mary site, which is considered very promising. Thus, as in various parts of the country, gas drilling operations in this region should be approached innovatively, which is the main condition for the efficient use of natural gas resources.
“In this regard, the Galkynysh gas field, whose total reserves together with the Yashlar and Garakel fields are estimated at 27.4 trillion cubic meters, we are developing on a phased basis through specific projects focused on the long term,” continued the head states. At the same time, other gas fields in the country are also being capitally developed.
“We are doing a great job in order to effectively use these resources for the benefit of the Turkmen people and in the interests of the peoples of the world,” the President of the country said, focusing on the need to intensify geological exploration and drilling, industrial development of new oil and gas fields.
Gas from the Galkynysh field is supplied to the domestic market and exported to China. The pipeline is designed to supply 40 billion cubic meters of gas per year, the throughput capacity of its three lines (A, B and C) is 55 billion m3/year. In addition, the gas from this field is defined as a resource base for supplies through the TAPI gas pipeline with a capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
In the future, the gas resources of Galkynysh are also expected to be used for supplies to the European direction.
Turkmenistan is among the top four countries in the world in terms of natural gas reserves along with Russia, Iran and Qatar.