Turkmen authorities have announced the readiness of TNK-BP and LUKOIL to take part in the development of gas and oil deposits in the country. LUKOIL has been offered three blocks on the continental shelf. This is the first time that TNK-BP's interest in Turkmenistan has become known. Observers suspect that new President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov's desire for investment, rather than the Russian companies' desire to development Turkmen deposits that motivated the decisions.
The announcements were made by the president's press service. LUKOIL confirmed that its president, Vagit Alekperov, had been in Ashgabat, but a source in the oil company said that “they hurried with the announcement about the lots on the shelf.”
TNK-BP representatives, including chairman Robert Dudley and executive director German Khan, were in Turkmenistan Monday and Tuesday. That company has no foreign assets. It is about to lose the Kovykta deposit, one of its largest domestic assets. However, this is unlikely to be an attempt to compensate for that loss. Little is specifically known about the country's reserves, since no geological exploration has been conducted there since Soviet times.
The announcements were made by the president's press service. LUKOIL confirmed that its president, Vagit Alekperov, had been in Ashgabat, but a source in the oil company said that “they hurried with the announcement about the lots on the shelf.”
TNK-BP representatives, including chairman Robert Dudley and executive director German Khan, were in Turkmenistan Monday and Tuesday. That company has no foreign assets. It is about to lose the Kovykta deposit, one of its largest domestic assets. However, this is unlikely to be an attempt to compensate for that loss. Little is specifically known about the country's reserves, since no geological exploration has been conducted there since Soviet times.
Vagit Alekperov,
Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov,
Lukoil, 
Turkmenistan,
TNK-BP
