Petronas Carigali plans new gas and oil projects on Caspian Block 1

Malaysia’s Petronas Carigali (Turkmenistan) plans two new projects, one for gas and one for oil, to develop fields on offshore Block 1 in Turkmenistan’s Caspian sector. Company CEO Ismadi bin Ismail announced this on Thursday at a panel discussion on investment opportunities in the Turkmen Caspian sector, held during the 31st International Conference and Exhibition “Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan” (OGT 2026) in Ashgabat.

Ismail said the company also plans to start drilling on Blocks 19 and 20 in December 2026. He said the remaining resource potential of Block 1 exceeds 70 trillion cubic feet of gas and more than 200 million barrels of oil and liquid hydrocarbons. He stressed that new markets are needed to monetise these resources fully.

Petronas has operated in Turkmenistan since 1996. In May 2025, it, XRG, Hazarnebit and Turkmennebit signed a production sharing agreement for new production on Block 1, and Petronas signed a long-term gas sales agreement with Turkmengaz. Petronas is the operator with a 57 per cent stake; XRG holds 38 per cent and Hazarnebit 5 per cent.