DUSHANBE, July 8, 2009, Asia-Plus — Chairman of the Main Geology Directorate Azim Ibrohim told a press conference in Dushanbe on July 7 that Russia’s closed joint-stock company (CJSC) Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz is continuing exploration work on the Sariqamish gas field in the Shahrinav district.
According to him, the exploration work is progressing and they plan to receive the preliminary data already in July-August this year. “In September, they will process information received and drilling machines will be installed on the Sariqamish gas field by the end of this year,” Ibrohim said.
Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz is an affiliate of Russia’s state-controlled gas company Gazprom, which has received licenses from the Tajik government to explore four oil-and-gas reserves in Tajikistan: Rengan; Sargazon; Sariqamish; and the Western Shaambari. According to Gazprom, the Rengan field, located in the Roudaki district, 20 kilometers from the Tajik capital, has possible gas reserves of 35 billion cubic meters and the Sargazon field, located in Khatlon’s Danghara district, some 150 kilometers from Dushanbe, has possible reserves of 30 billion cubic meters.
Cooperation between the Tajik government and Gazprom is regulated by a long-term (till 2028) agreement on strategic cooperation in the gas industry signed between Gazprom and Tajikistan’s Ministry of Energy in Dushanbe on May 15, 2003 and a memorandum of intent on launching joint Tajik-Russian enterprises of March 28, 2006. Gazprom has been working in Tajikistan on providing the beginning of geological explorations since July 2006.
“Besides Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz, Canada’s Tethys Petroleum, Singapore’s Marvis as well as Tajik-Swiss joint venture, Somon Oil, and Tajik-United States company, TojAm, are currently al engaged in exploration and development of gas and oil fields in Tajikistan,” Ibrohim said.
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. At the same time, production work at oil and gas fields require considerable expenditure, since hydrocarbon deposits occur at depths ranging from 6.5 to 8 kilometers.
