World's Energy

16 January 2009 - Upstream OnLine - Turkmenistan's President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked two Cabinet ministers, the heads of the state oil and cotton companies and several other key government officials today, accusing them of "unforgivable mistakes" in carrying out reforms in the gas-producing Caspian nation. Berdymukhamedov, who came to power in late 2006 promising wide-ranging reform, fired more than a dozen officials including Energy & Industry Minister Kurbannur Annaveliyev and Communications Minister Resulberdy Hojagurbanov, a Reuters report said. "Unforgivable mistakes and miscalculations have been allowed in their work which hindered efforts to implement our possibilities," Berdymukhamedov said in remarks broadcast on state television. "Incompetence, lack of responsibility and negligence are all to blame here as well as direct violations by some of the managers who were driven by vested interest," he said. Berdymukhamedov promoted Yarmukhammed Orazgulyyev, a deputy energy and industry minister, to the minister's post, one of the most influential jobs in Central Asia's biggest natural gas exporter. Orazdurdy Khajimuradov, a mid-ranking energy sector official, was appointed head of the state oil company Turkmenneft, replacing Karyagdy Tashliyev. Also sacked were the head of the state cotton company and several regional leaders. Investors watch the emergence of new senior figures in the government closely as Russia and the West compete for opportunities in Turkmenistan's vast energy sector. The ex-Soviet nation, which has been slowly opening up to the outside world since the 2006 death of absolutist President Saparmurat Niyazov, is keen to demonstrate its willingness to conduct reforms and improve the investment climate. "The world community is changing," said the Turkmen leader. "We have to put more effort into our work, we have to work productively, and we have to raise ourselves again to the level of top members of the global community." Turkmenistan held parliamentary elections last month in which 90% of the candidates were members of the president's Democratic Party - the only registered party - and a few independent candidates represented state-controlled groups.