DUSHANBE, December 27, Asia-Plus — Russian energy giant Gazprom is scheduled to be licensed to develop four natural-gas deposits in Tajikistan
The Tajik Government has sent a letter to the country’s Main Geology Administration, urging to consider the issue of granting licenses to Russia’s Gazprom for developing Rengan and Sargazon natural-gas deposits as soon as possible, according to the Ministry of Energy and Industry (MoEI).
A source at a MoEI said that Zarubezhneftgaz, an affiliate of Gazprom, jointly with Tajik specialists had already carried out work on prospecting for reserves of these deposits. “In the near future, they will start work on launching a joint venture to develop the deposits,” the source said. The work is being carried out gradually and a license for developing the third deposit, Sariqamish, will be given to Gazprom within the next few years.
We will recall that during a visit to Tajikistan in March 2006, Gazprom Chief Executive Aleksey Miller signed a memorandum of intention to set up a joint venture in the oil and gas sector, with a controlling stake to be held by the Russian energy giant.
Gazprom will own not less than 75 percent in the venture.
In November, a senior Gazprom executive Aleksandr Ryazanov visited Tajikistan to discuss projects the Russian natural gas monopoly could launch in Tajikistan within the next few years. According to him, Gazprom has earmarked $7 million for prospecting in the republic in 2006, and another $12 mil0lion for 2007.
Gazprom will be licensed to develop Sariqamish, 35 kilometers west of the capital, Dushanbe, which has 40 billion cubic meters in recoverable reserves, Rengan, 20 kilometers (south of Dushanbe, with 40 billion cubic meters in reserves, Shohambari, 20 kilometers west of Dushanbe, and Sargazon, in southern Tajikistan, with reserves estimated at 30 billion cubic meters.
According to expert estimates, the aggregate raw-materials resources of the oil and gas bearing areas in Tajikistan amount to about 1,000 billion tons of reference fuel.
