The first day of the two-day forum on Turkmenistan’s energy sector, being held in Dubai, concluded on the evening of 26 April 2023. The pace and direction set by the plenary session continued in the three thematic sessions.
Among the many new things that brought the aura of freshness to this event was the total awareness among the industry leaders about the sentiment near and far, including but not limited to the ongoing Just Stop Oil protests in the UK.
While the zealots on the British streets could be doing more harm than good, the people who can actually put the sector on the faster pace toward greening were reiterating their commitment in the Dubai forum.
Turkmenistan, with its unwavering focus on ecological integrity has proven that by positioning the environmental concerns as the decisive factor in new projects, the prospects of investment actually expand rather than shrink.
The choice of Dubai as the location for the forum was not by accident. UAE, a country that has moved in leaps and bounds to turn from an oil-based economy to cutting-edge sustainability in less than 40 years, is an unswerving partner of Turkmenistan.
The themes of the three sessions of the first day’s work of the Dubai forum:
SESSION 1 – Investment opportunities in the Turkmen energy sector: Onshore
Keynote address: Myrat Archayev – Deputy Chairman, SC “Turkmengas”
Muhammetmyrat Amanov – CEO, “TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd”
Stephen Wright – Technical Director, GaffneyCline
Irina Luryeva – Head of the laboratory of the Scientific-Research Institute of Natural Gas, SC”Turkmengas”
Maksat Pirliyev – CEO, NaPeCo
Valentin Kotlomin – Consulting Manager, Argus Media
SESSION 2 – Environmental aspects of hydrocarbon developments
• Update on greenhouse gas emissions, measurement, and reporting
• Reducing methane and CO2 emissions to meet net zero and monetization
• Underground gas storage and CO2 reinjection into reservoir
• How to reduce flaring, venting and leaks
• The role of R&D in the development of oil & gas industry
Keynote address: Saamir Elshihabi – Principal Lead, Energy Transition, COP28 UAE
Manfredi Caltagirone – Head, International Methane Emissions Observatory (UN)
Stéphane Germain – President, GHGSat Inc.
Julien Perez – Vice President, Strategy & Policy, OGCI (online)
Mark Fitzgerald – Vice President, International Assets, Upstream, PETRONAS
Francois Sammut – Director, Carbon Limits AS (online)
Bayrammyrat Pirniyazov – Director, Scientific – Research Institute of Natural Gas under the SC “Turkmengas”
Maxim Nechaev – Consulting Director, S&P Global Commodity Insights
SESSION 3 – New era energy: prospects for domestic & regional development
• Hydrogen – the fuel of the future
• Gas & renewables – partners in the low carbon energy transition
• Energy sector diversification – chemical gas utilization
• The role of carbon markets in the transition to new era energy
• New trends in financing of energy projects
• The role of international financial institutions in promoting clean energy
• Turkmenistan’s strategy on renewable energy
Keynote address: Hajymuhammet Rejepmyradov – Minister of Energy of Turkmenistan
Rahymberdi Jepbarov – Chairman of the Board, State Bank for the Foreign Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan
Azat Orazmuhammedov – Acting General Director, “Turkmen Investment”
Maxim Zubov – Vice President, Türkiye and Central Asia, Siemens Energy
Gokmen Topuz – Deputy General director of Çalık Enerji (Investment & Renewable Energy)
Miguel Brito – Energy Analyst, S&P Global Platts
Bayrammyrat Atamanov – Rector, Yagshygeldi Kakayev International Oil and Gas University
Nilay Shah – Professor, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London (online)
Zafar Samadov – Program Officer, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Patrick Meyer – USAID Regional Energy Advisor
· Taken together with the essence of the plenary session, the take-home message of the three sessions can be summed up as follows:
Turkmenistan is fully committed to sustainable, eco-friendly development of its hydrocarbon sector, particularly the extraction, processing, and transportation of the natural gas.
· The traditional partners of Turkmenistan are quickly introducing environmentally friendly features in their work.
· The new opportunities for investment are equally open to the traditional and new partners of Turkmenistan, the only requirement being the adherence to the environmental safety.
· The new energy products would preferably be a mix of traditional and renewable sources.
· For now, there is no alternative to natural gas and the volatility of markets will bring more responsibility to the major players in the gas sector.
· Turkmenistan, as an important player in the gas sector, is aware of its responsibility and stands ready to cooperate with partners in all directions.
· There will be the demand for transition technologies – the ability to gradually move from natural gas to sustainables without damaging the basic character of the industrial unit.
As is with the nature of such events, the Dubai forum is not isolated episode. It is the start of the exploration of new possibilities. Turkmenistan has put forward new content in its presentations and the prospective partners are responding positively. /// nCa, 26 April 2023