Oil refining key to Turkmenistan development

LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - A sophisticated refining and petrochemicals industry is key to plans for Turkmenistan's economic development, and the country plans to boost refining to 30 million tonnes per year by 2030, a senior Turkmen oil official said on Thursday.

Turkmenistan's goal was to refine 30 million tonnes of oil per year (600,000 barrels per day) and export 80 million tonnes per year of crude oil, Bayrammur ad Muradov, executive director of the state agency for management and use of hydrocarbon resources, told a London conference.

The country's largest and most modern refinery, the Turkmenbashi complex in the west of the Caspian country, with a capacity of around 7.5 million tonnes per year, is loaded at around 85 percent and is producing fuels to European standards, with sulphur content of 10 parts per million (10 ppm), Muradov said.

The country has a second, smaller refinery with a capacity of 6 million tonnes per year, which is running at low capacity and will be completely rebuilt, he said.

A delegation of three Turkmen oil officials appeared at the London conference on Thursday to promote investment in its largely untapped oil industry. [ID:nAKI749964].

On refining and petrochemicals, Muradov said it was mainly seeking western expertise in marketing and had a successful meeting with oil majors BP (BP.L) and Shell (RDSa.L) on Wednesday.

"We don't have much experience in marketing and selling the products," he said. For stories on refining in the former Soviet Union, click on [REF/CIS]. (Reporting by Melissa Akin; Editing by Marguerita Choy)