Turkmenistan Looks to Intensify Search for Oil, Gas

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has stressed that the country needs to intensify exploration and drilling operations in search for new oil and gas deposits.

The President said that priority tasks are to increase oil and gas extraction, ensure diversification of hydrocarbon exports to the world markets and, in general, to modernize the fuel-energy sector, Trend News reported.

Last month, British Petroleum in report said that Turkmenistan’s known natural gas reserves were 24.3 trillion cm as of the end of 2011, almost double the previous year’s appraisal of 13.4 trillion cm. Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world after Russia, Iran and Qatar for its natural gas reserves.

The country's major fields are concentrated in the east of the country, "Southern Yoloten - Osman" (recently merged and renamed as Galkynysh) and Yashlar field.