OREANDA-NEWS. October 18, 2010. A meeting with Patrick Pouyanne, Senior Vice President, Strategy, Business Development and Research & Development, Exploration & Production was held at the State Agency for Hydrocarbon Management and Use under the President of Turkmenistan. The meting focused on the approaches to intensifying cooperation in the oil and gas sector, in particular implementing joint projects in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea. Mr. Patrick Pouyanne commented on the meeting.

“As a world’s leader in oil and gas production and processing the Total Company, which ranks, stands ready to offer its profound expertise in exploration and prospecting, development of offshore and inshore deposits as well as knowledge and potential of its high-qualified specialists to Turkmenistan. We view this meeting as a critical step towards exploration of the very promising Turkmen market by our company, which ranks among leading oil and gas technology designers. Before presenting our concrete proposals on further collaboration, we have thoroughly studied sits offered for development and collated them with our interests and capabilities.

“We see great prospects in cooperation with such a world’s energy producer as Turkmenistan. I hope that our talks and plans will be embodied soon in large-scale joint projects. The practical aspects of cooperation were the focus of the talks with the high-ranking officials of the State Agency for Hydrocarbon Management and Use under the President of Turkmenistan.

“Modern Turkmenistan that keeps huge oil and gas reserves that was proved by the independent international audit is open to full-scale cooperation with foreign partners that is facilitated by the open door policy successfully pursued by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. All this taken together draws attention of world’s largest companies, including Total, to your country. As for the opportunities for fruitful work here I could see firsthand the quite favourable conditions for investment activity created in Turkmenistan that inspired confidence in their safety.

“For the past three years all of us have been closely following the statements of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov at the sessions of the UN General Assembly, including the initiatives on global energy security. Thus, Turkmenistan’s proposal put forward in 2008 underlay the Resolution of the UN General Assembly on the reliable and stable transit of energy resources and its role in ensuring sustainable development and international cooperation. Last year your national leader also proposed establishing an expert group under the aegis of the United Nations, which would develop the universal mechanisms for reliable and stable transit of energy resources to world markets. This year the Turkmen leader has put forward the initiative to establish a special body, the Energy Council of the UN.

“As we know, these proposals were supported by the international community, because the practical implementation of these vital initiatives proposed by the Turkmen leader to all humanity at the forum of the community of nations will be able to ensure energy security on the planet.

“Generally, in our time the role of authoritative leaders in fostering international cooperation is extremely high. We remember that despite his busy schedule President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov during his visit to the Republic of France found the time for a business forum, which brought together all business leaders of our country. The heads of large companies received the firsthand information about the great potential of modern Turkmenistan that became a powerful impetus to develop further Turkmen-French relations. I should add that the ideas of cooperation we discussed in detail at the State Agency for Hydrocarbon Management and Use had been initiated during the meeting of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and CEO of Total Christophe de Margerie.

“So, I would like to say it again that the high international prestige of the Turkmen leader, the mineral wealth of your country and the favourable conditions created for foreign partners are the groundwork for our confidence in the successful implementation of joint projects that we are planning to put into practice on your hospitable land.”