December 1998 - Needs Assessment and Orientation.  In cooperation with technical assistance partner Hagler-Bailly, Inc., and regulatory partnership coordinator the United States Energy Association (USEA), MMS met with key actors involved in the Turkmen oil and gas sector.  MMS representatives met with members of both the Turkmen and international oil and gas industry as well as counterpart Turkmen regulators.
 

March 1999 - The first of four technical assistance workshops was conducted from March 3-5, 1999 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. A representative from Georgia attended. The workshop conveyed an "Overview of the MMS System and Its Historical Evolution as the Sole Offshore Regulator of Oil and Gas in the U.S."
 

June 1999 - The second technical assistance workshop was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on June 2-4, 1999. Two representatives from Georgia and approximately 30 government and state sector employees attended from Turkmenistan. Likewise, representatives from foreign oil companies were present, namely Petronas of Malaysia, Monument of the U.K., and Mobil of the United States. The workshop was titled, "Regulating Field Operations and the Inspection Process: the MMS Model." The last day of this workshop was a one-day study tour to an onshore drilling facility in Kyzlarbat (photo above), where MMS inspectors and their Turkmen counterparts performed a mock inspection. Furthermore, as a result of this workshop many MMS forms associated with regulating field operations and the inspection process were freely distributed to those in attendance.
 

July 1999 - The USEA CEPI Environmental Overview workshop was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on July 7th and 8th. MMS, as a partner, was represented by two employees expert in the overall MMS program and the environmental issues and analyses associated with offshore oil and gas activities. Approximately 25 Turkmenistan participants attended, including government, industry and NGO representatives. The seminar consisted of presentations by the U.S. representatives focusing on the EIA/EIS process and its fundamental role within the scheme of performance-based regulations.
 

August 1999 - The third technical assistance workshop was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on August 4-6, 1999. Four representatives from MMS participated and presented. Two representatives from Georgia and approximately 30 government and state sector employees attended from Turkmenistan. The workshop was called, "Ensuring Fair Market Return on Oil & Gas Resources: the U.S. Model." In the morning of the last day of the workshop, a tutorial of MMS software used in resource and reserve estimation was interactively presented. The last day concluded with a tour for the MMS representatives of the offices of Turkmen Geology. As follow-up to this workshop, MMS, in cooperation with Hagler-Bailly, hopes to bring 2-3 Turkmen resource evaluators to the U.S. to shadow their counterparts in one of our regional offices.
 

November 1999 - On November 15^th, 1999, the MMS’s Gulf of Mexico Region hosted regulatory officials from Turkmenistan as part of the U.S. Energy Association’s Caspian Environmental Partnership Program. The round-table discussions with the Turkmen included: environmental impact analysis and monitoring; offshore plans, permits, applications, and inspections; and production and development permits and conservation issues.
 

July and August 2000 - The MMS GOMR hosted two senior Turkmen offshore inspectors for training on the MMS inspection program. During the course of the training the two were provided an introduction to all facets of regional and district level operations. As part of this, the two Turkmen inspectors shadowed Houma and New Orleans District Inspectors on four separate trip offshore to inspect platforms.
 

August 2000 - The fourth technical assistance workshop was held in Turkmenbashy, Turkmenistan.  The workshop addressed the need and importance of assessing environmental information and impacts to ensure operations are conducted in an environmentally sound and safe manner. Part of the workshop utilized a mock exploration plan by a fictional company with Turkmenistan’s new regulations as the legal framework by which it was introduced. MMS representatives acted in different roles from company executive, to environmental consulting firm, to the Government of Turkmenistan. The Turkmen audience was drawn from governmental ministries, state companies, international operators involved in Turkmenistan, and members of the environmental NGO community.