The President of Turkmenistan issued a severe reprimand to Deputy Prime Minister Myratgeldi Meredov in charge of the fuel and energy complex. The head of state signed the relevant order today during a working meeting on the development of the oil and gas industry, the Vatan news program of the Turkmen television reported.

A severe reprimand was announced “with the last warning about the correction of the shortcomings in the shortest possible time,” the document says.

By signing this Order, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed dissatisfaction with the level of work carried out in the industry. In particular, the head of state noted that the volume of oil production decreased, including within the framework of the Production Sharing Agreements, and stressed the need for timely practical steps to improve these indicators, overhaul and reconstruction of oil and gas wells, as well as increase the pace of these works.

The leader of the nation pointed out that effective measures should be taken to accelerate geological exploration, increase the volume of identified and proven oil and other natural resources. Efforts should be made to attract direct and indirect foreign investment in the oil refining and gas chemical industries, the leader of the nation said.

Focusing on the importance of developing new markets for oil products and petrochemical products, as well as promising gas export routes, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasized the need to use the design capacity of the Turkmenbashi complex of oil refineries at the expense of crude oil produced under Production Sharing Agreements.

In this regard, the issues of purchasing oil at market prices and processing it in economically favorable conditions, as well as exporting produced oil products and obtaining additional profit from them, should be resolved on an acceptable basis, the leader of the nation continued.

Despite the fact that the country has the International University of Oil and Gas equipped with the most advanced technologies, as well as practical and educational and methodological training of workers is provided for during the construction of enterprises belonging to the complex, these oil and gas industries need highly qualified specialists, the head of state continued. The level of personnel training remains low, and this situation cannot be tolerated, the President of Turkmenistan stressed.

Noting that the expenses for the extraction and processing of hydrocarbon resources and the cost of production increased, the leader of the nation demanded that the Deputy Prime Minister carry out the necessary work to reduce these indicators.

In continuation, the head of state noted that, despite the fact that a modern complex with high-tech laboratories was built for the Scientific Research Institute of Natural Gas, scientific activity in the industry is not at the proper level.

The President of the country also focused on the fact that in the oil and gas complex, taking into account international experience, an electronic tender platform has not yet been opened, intended for holding tenders for the purchase of goods, relevant works and services, strictly demanding that the Deputy Prime Minister take appropriate measures in this direction.