President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on Wednesday made a working trip to the Balkan region, during which he took part in the solemn ceremony of laying new power units at the Turkmenbashi complex of oil refineries.

As part of this project, the plant will build two new gas turbine power plants with a design capacity of 70 Megawatts / hour and reconstruct the existing power plant. The Turkish company “Çalik Enerji” will carry out the construction of the facilities. They will be equipped with the most modern equipment produced by the leading enterprises of European countries, and in 18 months, they will be put into operation in full readiness.

All this is designed to ensure uninterrupted and reliable supply of electricity to new facilities, the commissioning of which is provided for by the "Program for the development of the oil and gas industry of Turkmenistan for the period until 2030," the President stressed.

One of these facilities is a delayed coking and tar deasphalting unit, which is currently under construction at the complex of plants. Putting it into operation, along with increasing the depth of oil refining, will increase the volume of production of liquefied gas, gasoline, diesel fuel and petroleum coke, as well as create additional jobs.

When implementing such important projects, the head of state said, special attention is paid to compliance with environmental requirements and innovative technologies.

Today's event is of particular importance, the President stressed. Large projects that are currently being implemented in Turkmenistan, despite the ongoing difficult situation in the world, are aimed at accelerating the pace of development of the national economy, ensuring a prosperous and abundant life for the people.

Speaking at the ceremony, the chairman of the board of the “Çalik Holding” group of companies, Akhmet Chalyk, congratulated the head of state and the entire Turkmen people on the upcoming holiday - the 29th anniversary of independence.

We are immensely proud of our long-term cooperation with Turkmenistan in the field of energy, Ahmet Chalyk said, assuring the President that the new project was completed on schedule.

Vagit Alekperov, head of the Russian PJSC Oil Company “Lukoil”, stressed that the construction of new power units at the Turkmenbashi oil refinery will be a significant event for Turkmenistan.

The head of “Lukoil” noted that the company has accumulated advanced experience, knowledge and technologies, including in the development of the Caspian shelf, and is ready to cooperate in the implementation of mutually beneficial projects that contribute to strengthening the industrial potential of Turkmenistan.

During the event, the audience was presented with a video - a brief presentation of the production capabilities of the TCOR, which is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Central Asia and the Caspian region.

Within the framework of the presentation, information was also sounded that, on the instructions of the President of Turkmenistan, a tender was being held to develop a feasibility study for the "Conceptual strategy for the development of the Turkmenbashi complex of oil refineries and the Seydi oil refinery."

The possibilities of the TCOR and the SCOR will be analyzed in detail, promising directions for their further development, as well as the optimal range of petroleum products, taking into account modern requirements and demand in world markets, will be determined.

In particular, it is planned to build new technological facilities at the Turkmenbashi complex of oil refinery, which will bring the depth of oil refining to over 90 percent. Among them - a complex of units for hydrofining diesel fractions and gasoline, catalytic cracking and coking with a hydrogen production unit; a catalytic cracking unit for heavy residues of oil refining products, as well as a unit for the production of high-quality base technical oils.