SHELL
www.shell.com
Contact Information
Carel van Bylandtlaan 16,
2596 HR The Hague,
The Netherlands
Postal Address
PO Box 162,
2501 AN The Hague,
The Netherlands
T: +31 70 377 9111
ES Tehnika dunyasi
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
183, Bitarap prospekt
Index: 744000
Т: +993 12 952097, 993 12 222255
History in Turkmenistan
Shell began negotiations with the government of Turkmenistan shortly after the country became independent, with the hopes of securing Production Sharing Agreements for several major gas fields and pipeline projects.[i] In 1997, Shell was awarded a contract to conduct a feasibility study for a gas pipeline that would start in eastern Turkmenistan and extend to Turkey and Europe, traveling through Iran.[ii] The proposed pipeline project was controversial given US sanctions on Iran, and the pipeline project was not realized. Similarly, Shell was to have participated in the Transcaspian pipeline project, which also did not materialize, “at least partly because of Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov’s demand for a down payment of $1 billion for permission for the project to begin.”[iii] In March 2003, Shell announced it would close its office in Turkmenistan, remaining an “observer” in the country.[iv]
In November 2010, Shell “and six other companies agreed to pay a combined $236 million to settle allegations that they or their contractors bribed foreign officials to smooth the way for importing equipment and materials into several countries,” including Turkmenistan.[v] The settlement resulted from a three-year investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.[vi]
Current Scope of Operations
Signaling its commitment to exploring operations in Turkmenistan, Shell has been a sponsor of the country’s major oil and gas exhibits for several years. The company was a bronze sponsor (2010-2011) of the Turkmenistan Gas Conference(TGC), as well as a silver sponsor (2010), and both a bronze and silver sponsor (2012) of the International Oil & Gas Conference(OGT).[vii] More recently, Shell was a platinum sponsor of the 2019 OGT.
In 2016, Shell opened a lubricants supplier, ES Tehnika dunyasi, in Ashgabat. [viii]
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[i] APS Review Gas Market Trends, “Turkmenistan-Shell Projects,” September 18, 2006, http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5809076/TURKMENISTAN-Shell-Projects.html. Original weblink no longer active.
[ii] APS Review Gas Market Trends, “Turkmenistan-The Shell Project,” September 21, 1998, http://www.allbusiness.com/mining/oil-gas-extraction-crude-petroleum-natural/717773-1.html. Original weblink no longer active.
[iii] Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, “Shell Closes Down in Turkmenistan,” April 10, 2003, http://www.cacianalyst.org/?q=node/1096. Original weblink no longer active.
[iv] AMEinfo.com, “Shell to Exit Turkmenistan,” March 2003, http://www.ameinfo.com/22623.html. Original weblink no longer active.
[v] Kara Scannell, “Shell, Six Other Firms Settle Foreign-bribery Probe,” Wall Street Journal, November 5, 2010, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704805204575594311301043920.html. Accessed February 18, 2022.
[vi] Scannell (2010).
[vii] http://www.oilgasturkmenistan.com/face/2sponsorship.php. Accessed December 2, 2008; and 17th Turkmenistan International Oil and Gas Conference, “Sponsors,” Turkmenistan International Oil and Gas Conference; http://www.oilgasturkmenistan.com/sponsors. Original weblink no longer active.
[viii] Shell, https://www.shell.com/about-us/contact-us/contact-turkmenistan.html. Accessed December 16, 2021.