TURKMENISTAN - Petrochemicals.

The Turkmen chemicals industry is small. There is potential for a large export-oriented petrochemical sector to develop in the country in view of its huge oil and gas resources, and its relatively small domestic market.

Now Turkmenistan meets much of its needs for plastics and other petrochemical products through imports from Russia and Ukraine. The government aims to change this in the coming years. It says the country's petrochemical sector would grow in parallel with the increase in oil and gas production. The largest chemical complex in Turkmenistan is located at Maryazot. This is being modernised and expanded under a project announced in June 2002.

In a move to cut down on imports of plastics from Russia and Ukraine, the Turkmen Gas and Oil Ministry signed a deal in November 1995 with Sofregaz and Technip of France to have a petrochemical complex and gas processing facilities built at Seidi. Originally, this project was expected to involve an investment of $420m but in February 1998 it was reported that the venture would be worth $300m. It was then said that the complex would consist of units to produce polyethylene and sulphur, and for ethane extraction. It was to include a 130-km pipeline linking the petrochemical and gas processing facilities to the Saman-Tepe gas field. About 4 BCM/y of gas was to be processed at the Seidi venture according to plans. Ashgabat was to deliver gas to Seidi from the Yangyguyy deposits in the east. This was one of the biggest foreign investment projects envisaged in Turkmenistan.

Uhde of Germany in 2002 began engineering and procurement work on a plant at Tedjen with a capacity of 346,000 t/y of urea and 198,000 t/y of ammonia. The plant came on stream in 2005. It is based on the Uhde Stamicarbon technology.

Other Industries: The Turkmen industrial base was among the least developed during the Soviet era. The main focus was on agriculture, specifically cotton, and the situation has not changed much since the country declared independence in 1991. Turkmenistan textiles constitute a major export. Other activities include the production of sulfites, and carbonite.

Much of the industrial activities in Turkmenistan revolve around basic agriculture. Half of the irrigated land is dedicated to cotton growth and Turkmenistan is the world's tenth largest cotton producer. But the acreage devoted to cotton is declining.