BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 8. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced plans to visit Turkmenistan in mid-June to sign an agreement expected to provide PETRONAS with access to one of the world’s largest natural gas fields, Trend reports via the press office of the Malaysian PM.
According to Ibrahim, the strategic significance of the planned agreement necessitates his personal participation in the two-day visit despite a demanding domestic political agenda. He identified strengthening Malaysia’s position in global energy markets and diversifying resource supplies as among the government’s key priorities.
The agreement is expected to create opportunities for PETRONAS to participate in the development of Turkmenistan’s supergiant Galkynysh gas field. The matter was discussed in May during talks in Ashgabat between Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and PETRONAS Advisor Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican.
PETRONAS has maintained a presence in Turkmenistan since July 1996, when it became the first foreign company to sign a production-sharing agreement (PSA) for offshore Block I in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea. The block includes the Magtymguly, Diyarbekir, and Garagol-Deniz fields and remains one of the country’s key offshore energy assets. This year also marked two decades of cooperation between Turkmenistan and PETRONAS in the gas processing sector.
In May 2025, PETRONAS signed a new long-term agreement for Block I, extending its operations in Turkmenistan through 2050. Under the updated arrangement, the offshore project currently produces around 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and has access to more than 7 trillion cubic feet of gas resources.
