Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Aug.15 / Trend, D. Azizov /
Uzbek President Islam Karimov signed a decree approving the development and implementation of a minimal program for developing further exploratory work in the Uzbek region of the Aral Sea, worth $17 million, within the PSA International consortium .
According to the decree "On additional measures for further implementation of production sharing agreements with respect to the Uzbek Aral Sea region", signed in August, "Uzbekneftegaz", jointly with other members of the consortium, will deal with the development and implementation of the program with the drilling of three wells and a minimum investment of $17 million.
At present, the Consortium of Investors consisting of the Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company (NHC), Russian "Lukoil", Malaysian Petronas, Korean KNOC, and China's CNPC, fully implemented a program for exploration-work under the PSA. Exploration will be conducted in the Uzbek region of the Aral Sea; in the early stages of the exploration period 2.941 thousand kilometers of seismic activity will be explored using a 2D method, by drilling two exploratory wells. The project cost will total $110.2 million.
A new field of hydrocarbons in the Western Aral, with a preliminary estimate of 11 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, was opened following the initial stage of research and exploration. Based on seismic data, six prospective structures were revealed, four of which are certified and prepared for deep drilling.
The main directions of further PSA implementation will be more thorough research and assessment, aimed at discovering new fields and assessing hydrocarbons in fields which have been discovered previously.
The consortium on implementing the "Aral" project was established in 2005, providing equal 20 percent participant shares.
The PSA on the Aral block was signed in 2006 and consists of two parts: exploration and the subsequent development of discovered hydrocarbon reserves with a validity period of 35 years. The project was launched on Jan.31, 2007.
As was previously reported, this year Petronas withdrew from the international consortium, transferring its share to other investors. The Malaysian company justified the transfer by the need to expand work on other investment blocks in Uzbekistan, including in the Gadjak field.