Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Aug. 7 /Trend H. Hasanov /
Some 22 production wells have been drilled at the Galkinish field which is the second largest gas field in the world, Turkmenistan's Oil and Gas and Mineral Resources Ministry said. Most of these wells were completed with testing and have given a large inflow of natural gas.
'Up till the end of the year all drilled wells will be tested and a strong flow of gas will go to the preliminary gas processing points and then to the gas purification plants from the underground reserves. However there are some wells at the field which have yet to reach the required five kilometre thickness of the land', the report said.
It was also noted that drilling has to be carried out in high temperatures and under abnormally high pressure. In particular, rig No. 200 in the area of the giant Galkinish field was inaccessible because of high dunes surrounding it.
Prior to this a number of exploration wells confirmed the presence of production reserves of hydrocarbons. It was possible to extract the gas flows in many technological wells at the same time from different horizons. According to the conclusion of geologists who have studied the materials of seismic exploration, the dimensions of the gas-bearing reservoir on the new field amounted to more than 600 metres.
No known gas-bearing structure has such parameters in Turkmenistan.
The largest fields in Turkmenistan are concentrated in the Mary region in the east of the country such as Southern Yoloten - Osman which were merged and renamed Galkinish and Yashlar with common resources estimated by local geologists and British GCA at 26.2 trillion cubic meters.
Turkmenistan has been playing the role of one of the key players in the energy market in the Caspian Sea region for a long time. Its raw materials are exported to Russia and Iran. In 2009, a route was opened to China, with the intention to increase the previously stated amounts to 65 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
The first development phase of the Galkinish field is scheduled to be completed this summer.
Work is being carried out on the basis of contracts signed in 2009 on the service conditions.
Turkmengaz has instructed companies like the CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Company Limited (China), LG International Corp and Hyundai Engineering Co Ltd (South Korea), Petrofac International LLC and Gulf Oil & Gas FZE (UAE) to carry out the necessary work.
After completion of the first phase of the Galkinish field, the facilities for the production of 30 billion cubic meters of marketable gas per year will be installed which can also serve as the source of supply and new projected export routes.