V.N. Melikhov
Play analysis of gas exploration results in the platform part of Turkmenistan (Karakum gas- and oil-bearing province)
DOI 10.47148/0016-7894-2025-5-113-128
Key words: Karakum Province; Murgabsky, Predkopetdagsky, North Turkmensky basins; play; Jurassic carbonate and terrigenous deposits; Neocomian formations; reef; multicontrol traps and accumulations; block; field; object.
For citation: Melikhov V.N. Play analysis of gas exploration results in the platform part of Turkmenistan (Karakum gas- and oil-bearing province). Geologiya nefti i gaza. 2025;(5):113–128. DOI: 10.47148/0016-7894-2025-5-113-128. In Russ.
Turkmenistan has a transit potential optimal for supplying Russian pipeline gas to South Asia. In parallel with the development of this possible scenario, Gazprom and other Russian companies, upon the consent of Turkmenistan, could participate in upstream projects in previously recommended areas and blocks of the Karakum gas and oil province, which ranks third in the world in terms of gas resources. The main regional focus areas of gas exploration and prospecting (plays) in the basins of the Karakum Province are discussed. Murghab sub-salt carbonate reef-bearing Jurassic play is most promising of them, while the less significant are Predkopetdagsky Neocomian-Jurassic plays and the North Turkmensky pre-Jurassic play. Maximum gas reserve concentration in the Murgab Basin (21 TCM) is reported in the largest subsalt Galkynysh massif, which is the group of 800 m high uplifts and organic buildups covering an area of approximately 1800 km2. Localization of up to 10 TCM of prospective gas resources is expected on the local uplifts – subsalt reefs in the eastern part of the Murgab Basin. The authors propose carrying out new exploration works with participation of Russian researches in a number of prospecting zones, objects, and underexplored fields of the Murgab, Predkopetdagsky, and North Turkmensky basins.
Vladislav N. Melikhov
Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences,
Scientific consultant
e-mail: melikhov45@yandex.ru
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Section: From abroad