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He was born in 1951 in Turkmenistan.
In 1973 he graduated from Foreign Languages Faculty (Department of English Language) under the Turkmenian State Teacher's Training College.
He started to work in 1972 as a teacher of English in a secondary school.
From 1974 to 1987 he has been involved in the Komsomol and Party work.
From 1987 to 1990 he has been attending post-graduate courses at the Academy of Social Science under the Central Committee of C.P.S.U. After graduating from the Academy he defended a thesis on the theme of "A role of Islam in International Relations".
From 1990 to 1992 he has been involved in the Party and State activity.
From 1993 to 1994 he has been working in the structure of the Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the first secretary, then adviser to the Department on Europe and America.
From March 1994 he worked as a deputy, but from January 1995 - as the first deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan.
From December 1996 to March 1999 - Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Turkmenistan to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
From June 1999 he is the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Turkmenistan to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
He can speak Turkmenian, Russian and English.
He is married and has two children.
OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY OF TURKMENISTAN
The President of Turkmenistan Saparmurad Turkmenbashi has set a task to the executive bodies of the country to work out a development strategy for the national economy for the first decade of the 21st century, the implementation of which would allow Turkmenistan to take a worthy place amid developed countries in the world, create firm basis and economic fundament for further development and prosperity of the state, having made the new century really gold century for the Turkmenian people. A draft copy of the Program prepared under a direct leadership and with personal participation of Saparmurad Turkmenbashi and, which has embodied ideas and the practical recommendations of the national leader, covers all areas of the state’s life uncovering its colossal potential and boundless prospects of revival of the nation. The main direction of the state’s life is covered by the oil and gas industry of Turkmenistan.
The development program for the oil and gas industry of Turkmenistan for the period of 2000 to 2010 was worked out on the assumption of the main principles of "Conception of President S.Niyazov on development of Turkmenistan’s oil and gas industry of up to 2020". The oil and gas industry both now and in foreseeable future will be a basis in the Turkmenistan’s economy. To date, assured hydrocarbon recourses in Turkmenistan amount to 22,8 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 12bn tons of oil.
One of the most important aspects of the oil and gas strategy created by the President of Turkmenistan Saparmurad Turkmenbashi is development of multichoice pipeline infrastructure able to provide export of the Turkmenian energy recourses to the world markets. The multiple-choice principle has both political and economic underlying reason and is based on the following preconditions: - world demand in natural gas, which is more and more often named as the fuel of the 21st century, continuously grows that results in formation of potential sales markets in different regions world-wide. According to International Energy Outlook 98, the demand of the world in the natural gas will be annually growing by 3.3% by the year 2020; - prospected resources of the natural gas in Turkmenistan can provide uninterrupted delivery of the energy source simultaneously by a number of pipelines.
Within forthcoming 10 years we will deliver our gas to Pakistan and India. It is planned to yearly sell 150bn cubic meters of gas after the year 2005. If we are able to put into practice everything planned, we can provide an income to the tune of $15bn. It will allow to significantly rise the living standard of the people in Turkmenistan.
It is planned to increase the natural gas export to 70-100bn cubic meters by 2005, and up to 100-150bn cubic meters by the year 2010.
At the moment there are various options for constructing the gas pipeline, all of them are known and it is not necessary to list them. It should only be noted that by the present time a priority is given to the Trans-Caspian project.
According to feasibility studies, the gas pipeline will be constructed within 28 months. Its length - from the eastern fields of Turkmenistan to Erzerum, a Turkish city, - is about 2,000 kilometers, the capacity of the pipeline is 30bn cubic meters a year. The construction budget on the project is about $2.4bn.
Within the frameworks of Istanbul summit held in November with participation of heads of OSCE’s states a number of documents have been signed aimed at further development of the Trans-Caspian pipeline project by which Turkmenistan early this century is going to export natural gas to Turkey and European countries. A new power corridor, which would link the countries of the region in the third millennium on terms of real economic profit and equitable partnership.
The key document was the Intergovernmental Declaration on principle of implementing the Trans-Caspian pipeline project between Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, which was signed by the Presidents of four partner-countries - Saparmurad Turkmenbashi, Heydar Aliyev, Eduard Shevardnadze, Suleyman Demirel and verified by the USA President Bill Clinton.
It became a continuation to the Treaty between Turkmenistan and Turkey signed in Ankara on October 29 by the Presidents of both states and stipulating the export of the Turkmenian gas in amount of 30bn cubic meters, out of which 16bn will be used by Turkey, the rest 14 will be delivered to the markets of the Western and Eastern Europe. This question is now under consideration by "21 Asr-Turkmenin Altin Asiri", a Turkmenian-Turkish joint-venture company. This document together with the Treaty on Selling the Natural Gas from Turkmenistan to Turkey was approved by a special law issued by the parliament of Turkey on November 3, 1999.
Taking part in this project, Turkmenistan has an intention of proceeding from national interests and economic security principles. Saparmurad Turkmenbashi stated that the offer to allocate a 50% quota to Azerbaijan in the Trans-Caspian pipe capacity of which is 30bn cubic meters of gas a year was not in line with Turkmenistan’s economic interests and could not be considered as acceptable. The President of Turkmenistan has underlined that Azerbaijan’s intentions to own a half of the future pipeline’s capacity makes this project non-lucrative for Ashgabad.
If Azerbaijan’s request is taken into account, Turkmenistan may count on the first income from the natural gas sale only in 8 years after commissioning the gas pipeline. In the meantime the funds which are planned to be allocated by the American financial institutions to the tune of about $3bn will have to be returned much earlier. "We will never agree to such the terms which threaten our economic independence. This is our initial, final and firm position", our President Saparmurad Niyazov declared.
Confirming a firm adherence to the principles of creating multiple-choice pipeline infrastructure, Turkmenistan is ready to independently build own section of the Trans-Caspian pipeline and sell gas to Turkey on the sea border with Azerbaijan, leaving the solution of problems connected with further fuel transit for the Turkish party and the Trans-Caspian consortium. "Azerbaijan and Georgia in this project only act as the transit countries and we are ready to pay only for their services on organising the gas delivery", Saparmurad Turkmenbashi underlined. Thereby, he has noted that if Azerbaijan was ready to independently, out of the frameworks of the Trans-Caspian project, organise natural gas delivery to Turkey, Turkmenistan would understand it, respecting a right of any country to act on the assumption of national interests and priorities.
Touching upon bilateral relations between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, it is possible to note that they are gradually developing. It can be observed in the trade cooperation that rose 4.2% in 1999, in the field of freight forwarding and in some other spheres. The legislative bases of these relations are stated in 25 documents signed for years of independence by both countries. And now about 20 documents are under preparation.
The Development Program for the oil and gas sector of Turkmenistan for the period of 2000 to 2010 was worked out with due regard to prospect use of significant potential of the country. An efficiency of exploring the fields depends on geological and other natural factors, volume and trustworthiness of information, methods, organisation of prospecting.
The development of the hydrocarbon recourses assumes carrying out a set of works, which comprises geophysical and explorations measurements, development of fields. Thereby, the working rates and level of developing the geological-economic regions should outstrip construction of export oil and gas pipelines.
Above 3,200 exploration wells with a total footage of about 32m feet have been drilled to date throughout Turkmenistan, about 154 oil and gas fields have been discovered.
A working group has been set up by the order of the President of Turkmenistan to achieve integral approach to solution of issues connected with realisation of the Treaty on Strategic Alliance on Exploration, Development and Marketing of the hydrocarbon resources in the country. This document was signed last August by the leaders of a Competent Body on Utilisation of Hydrocarbon Resources and Shell Exploration, a British-Dutch company. According to the document, Shell and the Turkmenian state-owned companies "Turkmengas" and "Turkmenneft" should establish consortia which will be committed by the government to carry out exploration and production on prospect gas structures in the east and west of the state. They will become raw material sources for export of the Turkmenian gas to Turkey by the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline.
To the present time the government of Turkmenistan and Shell have been holding subject and in-depth discussion on a wide range of question on execution of the Treaty on Strategic Alliance. The working groups of the experts from the state-run company "Turkmengas" and Shell have exchanged in information and made a comparative analysis on technologies for development of the gas fields on which PSA is planned to be signed. A joint search for the most efficient development methods for the Turkmenistan’s gas fields is ongoing.
Discussion of the engineering and commercial aspects of the PSA’s draft copy is being held in the manner of mutual understanding and constructive approach. In their joint statement the state-owned companies "Turkmengas", "Turkmenneft" and Shelf company have expressed an assurance that their joint consideration of the PSA’s draft copy will be successfully completed in the nearest future.