Subsoil management conditions to be eased in Kyrgyzstan

As the head of the agency Duishenbek Zilaliev reported, the new measures will make it easier for organisations to acquire the rights to manage the subsoil, will simplify project approval and progression procedures and, as a result, will reduce corporate risk.

In particular, work has been carried out on implementing and approving the Nedra electronic information system for creating and submitting geological reports via the internet, as well as on introducing the "single window" principle into subsoil management to attract investments and support projects.

In addition to this, to ensure the licence issuing process is completely transparent, from 1 December the department plans to hold at least three open tenders for fields of national importance. According to official estimates, this will raise up to 2.25 billion som for the budget.

The next step, according to Duishenbek Zilaliev, is to create the required conditions for the development of new large and medium-sized mineral deposits in 2014–2017. In line with this, by 1 October 2014 the legal framework for monitoring the rational use of natural resources is to be systematised, and a mechanism of effective interaction between the Agency and the local population is to be developed.

At the same time, by 1 August the State Agency intends to conduct an inventory of previously issued licences for developing coal, oil and gas deposits, to ensure they are being developed as intended. According to calculations, licence retainer fees paid by subsoil developers could bring up to 30 million som into the state coffers.

In 2013, the mining sector's contributions to Kyrgyzstan's state budget amounted to over 1 billion som (around USD 20 million).

In 2003, Gazprom and the government of Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement on collaboration in the gas sector for a 25-year term. This focuses particularly on joint projects for the development of hydrocarbon deposits within Kyrgyzstan, the reconstruction, building and operation of the main gas pipelines and other infrastructure objects within the country's gas complex, and the transport and supply of gas.

Gazprom International's collaboration with Kyrgyzstan is based on the 2007 Agreement on the general principles for the geological study of the subsoil in prospective oil and gas fields.

In accordance with the step-by-step programme of geological prospecting work, Gazprom International will conduct comprehensive geological and geophysical surveys at two of Gazprom's licensed territories in Kyrgyzstan – Kugart and East Maylisu IV.