Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov on Wednesday inaugurated the country's first foreign oil refinery and laid the first stone of a gas processing plant, and invited other foreign companies to invest in his country.

The president took part in the inauguration of the refinery built by the Irish company Dragon Oil PLC, and laid the first stone of a gas complex, which will be built by Malaysian state oil company Petronas, state television reported.

The refinery cost US$25 million to build and has capacity for 2.5 million tonnes of oil per year.

The gas processing plant will be built between now and 2010 at a cost of US$500 million. It will produce, purify and transport to the national distribution network 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the Caspian Sea.

"Turkmenistan will create the most favorable climate (for foreign companies)," Berdymukhammedov said on state television. "A broad international cooperation will contribute to the efficient exploration of the country's natural resources."

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