Daily flow of 2 mln cubic meters of gas established at Turkmenistan's Galkynysh field
ASHGABAT. Nov 25 (Interfax) - A new commercial inflow of natural gas has been established at production well no.265 at the Galkynysh gas field in Turkmenistan, the country's State Information Agency said.
Drilling operations were carried out there to a depth of up to 4,485 meters, and several productive horizons were discovered in layers at depths of 4,417-4,281 meters and 4,266-4,226 meters, it said.
A flow of 2 million cubic meters of gas per day at the well will only increase, it said.
Galkynysh is the world's second largest field by gas reserves after the South Pars field in Iran. Independent UK firm Gafney, Cline & Associates estimated its reserves (together with the satellite Yashlar field) at 27.4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.
At the current stage of the field's exploration, projected development figures outline seven phases of development, with a production target of 200 billion cubic meters per year. The first phase is currently underway, which has achieved gas production of 30 billion cubic meters per year. These amounts are partially supplied to Turkmenistan's domestic market as well as to China through three branches of the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline.
It was also reported that Ashgabat is finalizing a contract to commence drilling at wells and developing the second phase of the field. The gas produced in this phase will be used to supply an additional 25 billion cubic meters a year to China, leveraging the construction of the pipeline's fourth branch. It is planned that this branch will run from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Currently, the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline has a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year, which will increase to 85 billion cubic meters per year after the fourth branch is completed.
The third phase of the Galkynysh field's development is meant to supply 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year via the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, which is currently under construction.
According to Turkmengaz's projections, the fourth phase could facilitate gas supplies through the Trans-Caspian Pipeline, which would become part of the Southern Gas Corridor directed westwards.
Currently, the active production well stock at the field consists of 52 wells, More than 10 wells are currently conducting drilling operations. The average gas flow rate is 1.5 million cubic meters per day, while the reservoir's potential allows for wells' sustained operation with flow rates exceeding 2 million cubic meters per day.
