OREANDA-NEWS. September 15, 2008. A special meeting was held in the central administrative building of the oil and gas industry ministry on occasion of Day of Oil and Gas Industry Workers, Power Engineers and Geologists. By tradition, the leading oil and gas specialists and their foreign partners – the businessmen representing the oil and gas companies successfully operating Turkmenistan gathered together to mark the professional holiday celebrated on second Saturday of September

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov addressed the welcoming statement to Turkmen oil and gas industry workers, power engineers and geologists highly appreciating their profound contribution to dynamic social and economic development of Turkmenistan. “Due to your selfless labour the amount of exploration work, development mining and the output of electric power are increased with every passing year,” the Turkmen leader said noting that the substantial earning to the state budget were gained through the achievements in these basic sectors of the national economy and used to develop and improve the national systems of health care, science and education, implement the reforms, beautify of the towns and villages and guarantee social protection to citizens.

The high-ranking officials and leading specialists of the oil and gas departments and the research institutes participating at the meeting emphasized that the country’s energy policy initiated by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov had set the priorities of the development of the national fuel and energy sector for the next ten years as well as specified the steps towards the country’s integrating in the global energy system.

The major tasks to achieve these goals include effective implementation of the profound natural and economic potential that Turkmenistan intended to place at the service of the whole mankind.

Declaring the intention to diversify its energy export Turkmenistan worked on several alternative routes that required intensification of exploration work and steady increase of fuel production.

Those speaking at the meeting noted that the investments running into billions in technology modernization, extension and reconstruction of the oil and gas and chemical enterprises, expansion of geological prospecting, geophysical work and drilling operation, recovery and accelerated commercial development of perspective deposits served this purpose.

In the framework of the long-term strategy set forth by the Programme on Oil and Gas Industry Development till 2030 mutually advantageous international co-operation in all trends in the development of the industry including prospecting and exploration of the deposits, full-scale development of abundant hydrocarbon resources in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, development of oil and gas pipeline and production infrastructure, manufacture of high-quality competitive petrochemical products acquired particular importance. Emphasize was put on the ongoing unprecedented measures to modernize and extend the oil and gas processing enterprises. That was vividly illustrated by the project on technology modernization of Turkmenbashi oil refineries that enabled to turn in into the leading petrochemical enterprise in Turkmenistan and the region as well.

However, the impressive achievements gained by the most dynamically developing sector were demonstrated at the recent Turkmen-Azerbaijani energy forum in Baku which was of intense interest to the world business community. The forum showed that applying the best international practice and advanced technologies Turkmenistan defined establishment of mutually advantageous co-operation built on equality and mutual benefit as a key vector of its development. That is also proved by the new Law of Turkmenistan “On Hydrocarbon Resources” which securing the national interests provides the firm guarantees and substantial benefits to all foreign partners concerned.