CIET 2025: The World's First Natural Gas-to-Gasoline Plant Strengthens Turkmenistan's Industry
19:54 04.11.2025 3376
At the CIET 2025 International Conference, Tomohiro Takashina, Director of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.'s Representative Office in Turkmenistan, spoke about the company's 20-year partnership with Turkmenistan, focusing on the flagship GTG-1 natural gas-to-gasoline plant project, which has become a symbol of Japanese-Turkmenistan cooperation and environmental innovation.
As noted, Kawasaki has been operating in Turkmenistan for over twenty years, having completed three major projects during this time: the Keletin Cement Plant, the Mary Fertilizer Plant, and the GTG-1 natural gas-to-gasoline plant.
The GTG-1 plant, located near Ashgabat, was built by the Kawasaki-Rönesans consortium with financing from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). Construction lasted from May 2015 to June 2019.
The production process is based on advanced Kawasaki technologies. The final product complies with Euro-5 standards. The plant produces 1,800 tons of gasoline per day and 350 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a byproduct, which is used to power the plant and exported as needed.
Environmental safety is paramount: GTG-1 gasoline is fully synthetic, free of heavy metals, sulfur, and other harmful impurities. The closed production cycle minimizes CO₂ emissions. As Takashina emphasized, GTG-1 has significantly strengthened Turkmenistan's image as a country implementing green technologies and energy innovations.
As the businessman noted, a framework agreement for the GTG-2 plant was signed in April 2025 during the official visit of Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Japan. Building on Kawasaki's extensive experience in designing and constructing similar facilities, the Turkmen and Japanese sides expressed their willingness to implement the plant's second complex through the same consortium, including Rönesans and Itochu Corporation.
The GTG-1 gas chemical plant in Turkmenistan represents a technological breakthrough, a model for the sustainable transformation of resources into value, and the development of green technologies, making Turkmenistan a leader in the gas chemical industry in Central Asia, emphasized Tomohiro Takashina.
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