Exploration and drilling operations on Turkmenistan's major gas blocks, assigned to the Malaysian company «PETRONAS», may start as early as December of this year. This was stated by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, reports the online publication nst.com. According to the head of the Malaysian government, such a rapid transition from the signing of the agreement to the start of drilling operations is one of the most prompt cases in the industry — typically, this takes from one and a half to two years. Anwar Ibrahim noted that the development of gas blocks in Turkmenistan will allow Malaysia to become one of the largest holders of gas reserves in the world. According to the Prime Minister, diversification of supply sources remains one of the key elements of the government's energy security strategy. It should be noted that in June of this year, in order to successfully fulfill the tasks set before the oil and gas industry, as well as to effectively develop the licensed blocks located in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, on the basis of the Law of Turkmenistan «On Hydrocarbon Resources», the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a Resolution. According to the document, the State concern «Türkmennebit» is authorized to conclude an agreement on the development of licensed blocks in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea between the State concern «Türkmennebit», the Malaysian company «PETRONAS Çarigali (Türkmenistan) Sdn. Bhd.», and the State Enterprise «Hazarnebit» of the concern.