On the final day of the 31st International Conference and Exhibition “Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan – 2026” (OGT 2026) in Ashgabat, a special Turkmenistan-Malaysia round table, focused on expanding the bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, was held.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan Mammetguly Astanagulov; the Minister of Economy of Malaysia Akmal Nasrullah bin Mohd Nasir; the Ambassador of Malaysia to Turkmenistan Mohd Suhaimi bin Ahmad Tajuddin; the Chairman of the Türkmengaz State Concern Maksat Babayev; the Deputy Chairman of the Türkmennebit State Concern Vekilmuhammet Ussayev; and the President and CEO of the Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation (MPRC) Mohd Yazid Jaafar. The Malaysian delegation included representatives from 20 oil and gas companies.
Mammetguly Astanagulov highlighted investment opportunities in Turkmenistan’s oil and gas, petrochemical, gas-chemical and energy sectors and the development of new production facilities, joint ventures and digital technologies.
Akmal Nasrullah bin Mohd Nasir expressed Malaysia’s interest in expanding cooperation between Malaysian companies, engaged in hydrocarbon exploration, production and processing, and Turkmen enterprises. He identified technical training, knowledge exchange and the provision of local maintenance services as promising areas for cooperation, with an emphasis on developing local capabilities alongside hydrocarbon extraction.
Maksat Babayev underscored the long-standing role of PETRONAS in the bilateral energy cooperation. Operating in Turkmenistan since 1996, the company has invested approximately 12 billion US dollars into our country’s economy. It was also noted that the Production Sharing Agreement with PETRONAS has been extended, and the company’s contribution to the training of Turkmen specialists was highlighted.
Vekilmuhammet Ussayev mentioned a Memorandum of Understanding signed on October 22, 2026, between the Türkmennebit State Concern and the MPRC Company. This agreement covers cooperation in oil and gas services, the supply of equipment and technical maintenance for Turkmenistan’s energy sector.
Mohd Yazid Jaafar discussed the capabilities of Malaysia’s OGSE (Oil and Gas Services and Equipment) sector, which comprises approximately 1,800 companies, and emphasized potential areas for cooperation, including methane emission reduction, artificial intelligence, digitalization and energy efficiency.
The round table also featured presentations by Malaysian companies specializing in engineering, offshore services, equipment maintenance and industrial technologies. As the Turkmen Energy Forum informs, this provided an opportunity to explore potential areas for practical cooperation with Turkmenistan’s energy sector.
