On September 4, 2013, with the participation of the President of Turkmenistan and the President of the People’s Republic of China, a ceremonial opening of a complex of production facilities – gas purifying and processing capacities at the giant gas field Galkynyş took place. The development of Galkynyş, one of the largest gas fields in the world, has become a major step towards implementing the country’s energy strategy and strengthening the raw material base of export gas pipelines. The resources of this giant field, together with the Ýaşlar and Garaköl deposits, are estimated at 27 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. Located in the south of the Mary velayat, the gas field has become one of the largest discoveries of our geologists over the years of independence.
Planned and comprehensive prospecting of the Galkynyş field, which is part of the underground resources of South-Eastern Turkmenistan, began in 1956. At the first stages, a large volume of regional studies was carried out there, including gravimetric (magnetic), airborne gamma, geological and hydrogeological surveys on a scale of 1:200,000. As a result of these studies, information was obtained that can provide a general assessment of the prospects of the oil and gas potential of the territory, based on its deep geological structure and the division of Neogene-Quaternary, Paleogene and Cretaceous deposits into lithostratigraphic units, and can identify specific objects and areas for more detailed study and exploration of oil and gas fields. The refraction wave method (RWM) at the first stage of seismic studies serves as the main method for visualizing promising Cretaceous deposits. In particular, at this stage, maps are compiled for the roof of the Upper Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic salts, allowing more reliable exploration of depths of up to 4 kilometers.
