Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor

Dubai will host today the International Forum for Investment in the Turkmen Energy Sector, and the Future of Energy Locally and Globally, with the participation of 300 delegates representing 200 international and private governmental bodies.

The two-day forum at the Hyatt Regency Creek Heights Hotel will discuss the role of Turkmenistan in the future of global energy, the available global and regional investment opportunities, the environmental aspects of hydrocarbon developments, the energy of the new era, the prospects for local and regional development, and the acceleration and diversification of new energy investment.

The event includes 10 Turkmen government bodies and ministries, and 10 agencies and organizations. Diplomats, international banks, 94 international companies, 14 specialized Turkmen companies, two international research centers, and 18 international and regional media institutions.

The UAE is represented by Ahmed Ali Al-Sayegh as Minister of State, and he handles economic and trade affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, by supervising the economic sector in the ministry, and contributing to providing support for government initiatives and plans in order to enhance economic diversification and chart a future based on sustainability in the country. On the other hand, the Turkmen side will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Ashyrguly Begliyev.

Turkmenistan also continues to be a major player in the Asian oil & gas market. The country’s hydrocarbon resources are estimated at over 71 billion tons of oil equivalent, comprising more than 20 billion tons of oil and more than 50 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. Given these figures, as of today, Turkmenistan operates the world’s largest onshore gas field, Galkynysh, and holds the world’s fourth-largest proven natural gas reserves, after Russia, Iran, and Qatar. Turkmenistan’s largest customer is the People’s Republic of China, which it currently supplies with over 30 BCMA through the three lines (A, B, and C) of the Central Asia Gas Pipeline system and, upon completion of the fourth D line, the annual Turkmen natural gas supply is set to reach a contractual 65 billion BCMA. Turkmenistan also supplies gas to Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia.