TURKMENISTAN - The Oil Producers.

The Turkmen state producers grouped under Turkmenneft account for more than 70% of the country total oil output. According to a government plan, their production should reach about 142,000 b/d before end-2000.

Turkmengaz, responsible for natural gas E&P, pipeline operations and gas distribution and marketing, is planned to raise its condensates and oil production to 18,000 b/d before end-2000.

The oil producing JVs between Turkmenneft and foreign companies should by then have an output of 40,000 b/d.

Turkmengeologiya, another state-owned entity, in charge of exploration and supervises the exploration activities of foreign companies. In some case it takes part in their exploration activities.

The main oil producing region for Turkmenneft is the Garashsyzlyk block in the Cheleken peninsula, where its fields account for most of the country's oil production. These fields include Kotur Tepe, Nebit Dag, Kyzyl Kum, Burun, Barsa-Gelmes and Kara Tepe.

The Garashsyzlyk fields are being re-explored and developed further under a new PSA and partnership between Turkmenneft and Burren Energy of the UK. Burren in mid-2000 took over the interests of Monument Oil & Gas (bought by Lasmo of the UK in 1999) and ExxonMobil.

A spokesman for the US super-giant said recently ExxonMobil handed over its interest in this venture because test results were less positive than hoped for. He noted: "Since 1997 (when Mobil joined the venture), the partners have made significant investments into an existing well recompletion program and a lateral drilling program over the Nebit Dag area involving about 50 wellbores... A comprehensive evaluation program was completed in the Burun field. The results were not encouraging as ExxonMobil had hoped".

The oil and gas ministry said in August that so far $60m had been invested in the development of Burun, the biggest field in the Nebit Dag area, and the planned initial investment for the PSA was put at $500m. (The original PSA was signed in 1995). The ministry said the Turkmen side will continue to receive the same volume of oil, 5,000 b/d, which Turkmenneft used to produce from Burun before the JV was formed. All oil produced over this volume is divided between Turkmenneft and Burren Energy.

The Nebit Dag PSA includes deep reservoirs beneath the Nebit Dag and Kum Dag oilfields, whose shallow formation had been virtually worked out. The Nebit Dag field went on stream in late 1997 and now is producing 30-36[degree sign] API oil. The output of this and the other fields should reach more than 50,000 b/d before end-2000. Their peak output after rehabilitation should reach 180,000 b/d by 2006.