Gazprom International, an affiliate of Russia’s state-controlled company Gazprom, has given up the two last licenses for exploration of hydrocarbon fields in Tajikistan.
According to information posted on Gazprom International’s website, the company decided to give up licenses for exploration of the Sariqamish and Western Shohambari gas fields in Tajikistan as “no commercial inflow was obtained.”
Gazprom International says they are currently studying the possibility of getting licenses for exploration of gas fields in southwestern and northern Tajikistan.
Gazprom received licenses for exploration of the Western Shohambari and Sariqamish fields on September 15, 2009 and the licenses expire on September 18, 2018.
Meanwhile, Gazprom International gave up licenses for exploration of the Sargazon and Rengan fields in 2014. The company received licenses from the Tajik government to explore the Sargazon and Rengan fields in 2006. According to Gazprom, the Rengan field, located 20 kilometers from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, reportedly has possible gas reserves of 35 billion cubic meters; Sargazon, located in Khatlon province 150 kilometers from Dushanbe, has possible reserves of 30 billion cubic meters.
Gazprom justified its decision to give up the licenses for exploration of the Sargazon and Rengan fields by saying that it decided to concentrate its efforts on exploration and development of the Sariqamish and Western Shohambari fields.
The Sariqamish field reportedly has possible gas reserves of 18 billion cubic meters, possible oil reserves of 17 million tons and possible reserves of dissolved gas of 2 billion cubic meters.
Cooperation between the Tajik government and Russia’s state-controlled company 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.
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. (News.tj/Business World Magazine)
