DUSHANBE, July 19, 2013, Asia-Plus — Tethys Petroleum Limited (Tethys), the oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Central Asia/Caspian Region, has returned the Bishtinchak oil and gas field located in southern Tajikistan to the State Unitary Enterprise (SUE) “Naftu Gaz va Angisht” (Oil, Gas and Coal), according to the Ministry of Energy and Industry (MoEI).
An official source at a MoEU says Tethys returned the Bishtinchak field to Tajik state-run enterprise after completion of the farm-out agreement announced in December 2012 with subsidiaries of Total Exploration and Production (Total) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) whereby each acquired a one third interest in its Bokhtar Production Sharing Contract (the Bokhtar PSC) in Tajikistan.
“Operations of Tethys on the Bishtinchak field were based on a separate contract with SUE “Naftu Gaz and Angisht” and after completion of rehabilitation works, the BST20 well was handed over to SUE “Naftu Gaz and Angisht,” the source said.
Tethys began prospecting in Bishtinchak oil and gas field in southern Tajikistan in September 2007. An agreement was signed on September 6, 2007 between Tethys and Tajikstan”s state enterprise for exploration and production of oil and natural gas in Bishtinchak field.
Tethys restricted production at the BST20 well in the Bishtinchak field in January 2012 after initial tests indicated possible communication with nearby wells. The well initially tested rates over 600 barrels of oil per day. However, these tests had indicated that it was draining a separate fault compartment to nearby wells.
In Tajikistan, Tethys Petroleum is one of the first oil and gas companies to work in the country. Tethys owns 85% of Seven Stars Energy Corporation, which in turn owns 100% of Tethys Services Tajikistan, the Operating Company under the PSC, and Kulob Petroleum Limited, the Contractor under the PSC, and is currently involved in an extensive program of oil and gas field re-development, exploration drilling, and seismic acquisition/interpretation.
