Petronas' Investment In Turkmenistan Reaches US$1.8 Bln

PETRONAS' INVESTMENT IN TURKMENISTAN REACHES US$1.8 BLN
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ASHGABAT (Turkmenistan), Nov 20 (Bernama) -- Petronas has invested up to US$1.8 billion in the oil and gas industries of Turkmenistan in the past 12 years, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The Prime Minister said he informed Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov during their meeting yesterday that Petronas' presence in the country was not merely for profit making but to also help the locals as well.

Petronas has so far given scholarships to 100 local students to study at the Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Tronoh, provided technical training for 180 students here and in Malaysia and job opportunities for 200 locals in Turkmenistan.

The Malaysian national oil company has also contributed towards the development of economy in Turkmenistan, Abdullah told Malaysian journalists, here, yesterday.

Abdullah has been on a two-day official visit to this former Soviet Union state which ends today.

The prime minister said Gurbanguly had expressed appreciation of Petronas' presence and contribution to his country and wanted Malaysian companies to venture into the telecommunication and agricultural sectors of this Central Asia country which gained independence from Soviet Union in 1991.

Abdullah said their discussion also focussed on enhancing bilateral ties in areas such as education and tourism.

Meanwhile, Petronas President and Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican said Petronas Carigali (Turkmenistan) Sdn Bhd operated in Caspian Sea, 80km South West of Turkmenbashy and produced about 7,000 barrels of oil per day.

Petronas ventured into this country's oil and gas industry in 1996 and its oil production began May 2006 with cumulative production totalling 4.8 million barrels of oil as of last month.

The area has oil reserves of 146 million barrels and gas reserves of 6.4 trillion cubic feet with a contract period of 32 years starting 1996.

Mohd Hassan said the gas project was expected to begin production of 500 million standard cubic feet per day by 2010.

Apart from Turkmenistan, Petronas also ventured into exploration and production of oil and gas projects in four regions in Uzbekistan since 2004 with a total investment of US$90 million todate and another US$150 million to US$200 million in the next three years.

Recalling the presence of Petronas in this country 12 years ago, he said not many oil companies were interested to venture into the former Soviet Union state.

Petronas' focus has been on the potential of countries with economies in transition rather than countries with matured economies, he said.

Not many companies are interested in these economies because of difficulties in terms of regulations and administration systems which are quite different but "we would like to turn difficulties into opportunities for the local people," he said.

Mohd Hassan said venturing into matured economies was also difficult as other companies would have already established their presence there.

He said Petronas also paid a lot of attention to human capital development as part of its social responsibility and also that it was cheaper in the long run to employ locals than bring Malaysians to work in the country.

He admitted that it was not an easy task to operate, for example in Uzbekistan, due to its extreme weather condition and geographical factor.

Petronas workers had to experience extreme winter with -40 degree celcius and summer with 60 degree celcius and even had to use pony to carry their equipment as certain stretches were not accessible by vehicles, he said.

Abdullah who witnessed Petronas' presentation on its operation in Uzbekistan described the workers as heroes. "They are our heroes. It is not easy to get oil." (By JAMALUDDIN MUHAMMAD/ Bernama)

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