Astana, Kazakhstan, Feb. 3
By Daniyar Mukhtarov - Trend:
U.S., Chinese and Russian companies show interest in the Eurasia project on exploration of deep horizons of the Caspian depression, president of the Society of Petroleum Geologists of Kazakhstan Baltabek Kuandikov told Trend.
"Foreign companies have shown interest in Eurasia project. We [the representatives of the special commission for the Eurasia project] had meetings with six or seven foreign companies which include U.S., Chinese and of course, Russian companies," Kuandikov said.
Representatives of foreign companies are interested in the privileges and preferences that can be gained with participation in the Eurasia project, according to Kuandikov.
"Everything is being studied by the country's Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in a working order," the head of the Society of Petroleum Geologists added.
Kuandikov recalled that a special commission on the Eurasia project was created in late 2013. Oil workers and representatives of several ministries of Kazakhstan entered this commission.
"Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin headed the special commission on the Eurasia project. Two meetings of the commission have been held. A third meeting will be held in March 2014 during which the operative issues on the Eurasia project will be discussed," Kuandikov said.
Currently, the experience of deep drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and in Sakhalin is actively being studied, according to the head of the Society of Petroleum Geologists.
"We recently have had a meeting with Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with whom we also discussed a number of issues, as the Eurasia project also covers Russia's territory," Kuandikov said.
The first working session will be held at the end of the first quarter of 2014 for all companies interested in participation in this project, according to Kuandikov.
"In parallel, negotiations are being held with Kazakhstan's Committee of Geology to gain access to old geological materials, in order to discuss the prospects of geological exploration on a more subject-based level," Kuandikov said.
It was earlier reported that within the Eurasian energy forum of KazEnergy, Kazakh Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov declared the implementation of the new Eurasia project.
The resource potential of the Caspian region, especially of the Caspian depression, amounts to approximately 40 billion tons of oil equivalent, according to experts' estimates.
Earlier, Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin said that the depth of the Caspian basin amounts to around 20,000-25,000 meters and there is a large volume of oil-generating rocks.
The implementation of the Eurasia project will consist of three phases. The first phase envisages the collection and processing of materials from previous years. The second phase includes large-scale research. The last phase includes the drilling of a new support-parametric well called Caspian 1, at the depth of nearly 14-15 kilometers. The estimated cost of the three phases of the Eurasia project is about $ 500 million.
The work on the Eurasia project is scheduled to begin in 2015.
Translated by L.Z.
Edited by C.N.
