Turkmenistan energy project challenged

Published: Nov. 16, 2007 at 5:33 PM

LONDON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- U.K. environmental analysts are questioning the integrity of Turkmen hydrocarbon projects.

Critics have said that deals to increase extraction of resources do not take into account environmental protection. According to the London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting, environmentalists are calling for the authorities in Turkmenistan to conduct monitoring of the damage to the environment caused by extraction and processing. The country currently ranks fourth in the world for natural gas extraction.

In addition to state-owned oil and gas companies, there are nearly 50 foreign firms with a stake in the country, including companies from Malaysia, Denmark, Dubai and Germany.

The state energy plan's goal is to increase natural gas production by 50 percent and oil production by 15 percent by the end of the year. While companies that contract with the state have environmental obligations, none of them is made public, analysts said, and environmentalists are concerned about the effect of more energy projects. A local ecologist said the government is not willing to cooperate with experts on the environment.

"We do not have environmentalists who could conduct research on environmental changes and the impact of drilling sites on human and animal immune systems," said the employee of an Ashgabat environmental organization who asked to remain anonymous. "We are on the brink of an environmental catastrophe, because the Caspian cannot withstand an intervention like wide-scale development of oil and gas fields."

© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints


NHL: San Jose 3, Anaheim 2 (4 min)
COL FB: Penn State 42, Michigan State 14 (18 min)
COL BKB: Butler 64, Evansville 60 (44 min)
NHL: Nashville 4, Columbus 3 (SO) (52 min)
NBA: Milwaukee 103, Memphis 98 (55 min)
COL BKB: Louisville 69, East Tenn. St. 56 (57 min)
NBA: Houston 113, Sacramento 106
fark
Fun-loving San Francisco cable car decides to give passengers an impromptu reminder of Newton's...
Photoshop this flagrant foul
From The Article: He confessed saying he had snapped when he saw her shock at finding him masturbating...
You've shot yourself in the foot. Do you a) go to the hospital, b) call an ambulance, or c) try...
Man attacked by assailants intent on stealing loaf of bread. It's a wonder he survived
Progress: Story about cat stuck on top of utility pole has video. Fail: three minutes of cat's owner...