Despite calls for a full transition to alternative energy sources, there is a growing recognition that the oil and gas industry should be part of the climate dialogue, a key driver of climate solutions. The goal should be to decarbonize the use of fossil fuels, and not to stop the use of fossil fuels, said Deputy Chairman of the State Concern “Turkmengaz” Myrat Archayev, speaking at the first session of the International Conference “Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan 2023”, which started in Ashgabat on Wednesday, 25 October.
In his presentation, Archayev expressed Turkmenistan’s vision regarding the global energy transition, and also spoke about the main investment projects being implemented in the country.
One of the largest ongoing projects in the gas industry of Turkmenistan is the first stage of industrial development of the Galkynysh field, which is the largest onshore gas reserves in the world.
In the context of supply of Turkmen energy sources to international markets, Archayev emphasized the fact that now the largest importer of Turkmen gas is the People’s Republic of China. About 40 billion cu m are supplied via three lines of the Turkmenistan – Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan – China transnational gas pipeline per year. In the future, the volume of Turkmen gas supplies to China will be brought to 65 billion cu m of gas.
Despite the consequences of the pandemic and the instability of the global energy market, Turkmenistan and its partners continue to support the implementation of the TAPI mega-pipeline project with a design capacity of 33 billion cu m.
Turkmenistan also pays attention to deep processing of gas. “Gas consumption in the domestic market of Turkmenistan increased from 25.7 billion cubic meters in 2020 to 28.4 billion cubic meters per year in 2022 and it will grow steadily,” Deputy Chairman of Turkmengaz notes.
Meanwhile, as Archayev noted, it is extremely important to invest in energy resources for the energy transition. The energy transition presents a number of challenges and opportunities in today’s changing energy markets. Natural gas is a key element of the energy transition.
In the next decade, the use of coal in Europe may cease, as well as the rejection of nuclear energy will continue. In view of this, natural gas and renewable energy sources will meet the increasing demand, he continued.
Further investments in new oil and gas fields will be required to avoid a significant imbalance in supply and demand, given the natural production rates from fields that are under active development.
Among the promising projects in the fuel and energy complex of Turkmenistan, Archayev highlighted the next stages of the development of the Galkynysh field, the construction of the TAPI gas pipeline, the construction of underground gas storage facilities, and the re-injection of carbon dioxide into the reservoir. All these projects require an increase in the level of gas production and Turkmenistan has a reliable resource base – the Galkynysh field, he stated. ///nCa, 26 October 2023
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