DUSHANBE, December 24, 2008, Asia-Plus — On December 22, the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI) and Kulob Petroleum Limited (KPL), which is subsidiary of Tethys Petroleum Limited (Tethys), singed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which Tethys’ subsidiary takeovers drilling operations on the East Olimtoi exploration well EOL09 that lies within KPL’s Bokhtar Production Sharing Contract (PSC) area.
According to Tethys’ Dushanbe Office, the state unitary enterprise “Naftugaz va Angisht” (NTG) owned by the MoEI has been drilling the EOL09 exploration well with a target depth of 3,800 meters in the Olimtoi area located in the south east of the Contract Area as defined in the PSC using the funding allocated from the state budget of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Under the terms of the PSC, from the date of the PSC all Petroleum Operations within the Contract Area are to be carried out solely by the Operator or the Contractor under the terms of the PSC and in accordance with the commercial conditions of the PSC. KPL is the Contractor under the PSC and Tethys’ subsidiary in Tajikistan, Tethys Services Tajikistan Ltd (TSTL) is the Operator under the PSC.
KPL and the MoEI have now agreed to continue drilling operations on the EOL09 well through TSTL, utilizing NTG as a Sub-Contractor. KPL will now fund and carry out further drilling operations on the well including upgrading of the drilling equipment. KPL has also agreed with the MoEI to negotiate a legally binding contract between TSTL and NTG as soon as possible setting out the obligations of the Parties and the detailed terms and conditions relating to the well services. The time to completion of this well will depend on the rig upgrades carried out.
Tethys is focused on oil and gas exploration and production activities in Central Asia with activities currently in the Republics of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. This highly prolific oil and gas area is rapidly developing and Tethys believes that significant potential exists in both exploration and in discovered deposits.
