Representatives from Gazprom and Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz get up to speed with project progress in Tajikistan

The working party was made up of Sergey Karnaukhov (head of Gazprom's Exploration, Licensing and Subsurface Resource Management Department), Dmitri Bielski (head of the Gas and Gas Condensate Well Drilling departmement), Yuri Skok (Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz's CEO), Vadim Rybalchenko (deputy Managing Director), Sergey Tumanov (director of Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz's representative office in Tajikistan) and other representatives of the operator and contracting organisations.
A production engineering meeting concerning the issue of the state and outlook for exploration work in Gazprom's licensed fields in the Republic of Tajikistan took place on 26 January at Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz's representative office. Representatives from Gazprom and Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz get up to speed with project progress in Tajikistan
It was noted at the meeting that the operator, in accordance with agreements signed between Gazprom and the government of the Republic of Tajikistan, is conducting exploration work in 4 prospective areas in the Republic: the Sarikamysh field (Shakhrinavsky district), the Sargazon field (Dangarinsky district) the Rengan field (Rudaki district), and the West Shokhambari field (Gissarsky district).
The research is being carried out under the difficult seismic and geological conditions of the region. All the potential objects are located deep (at depths of from 5,000 to 7,000 kilometres).
Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz carried out 3-D seismic survey tests (in Sarikamysh and Sargazon) and exploratory work (in Sarikamysh, Sargazon and Rengan) from 2009 to 2010.
Following complex data processing and interpretation in 2010, the prospective structure Shakhrinav was exposed and prepared for drilling, with anticipated resources amounting to around 18 billion cubic metres of gas and 17 million tonnes of oil.
During the period from June to October 2010, Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz carried out repair and construction work on the 15-kilometre section of road from the village of Bolshevik to the drilling field, to ensure timely construction of the well using logistical resources, equipment and materials.
The operator began drilling the first exploratory well, Shakhrinav-1P, on 7 December. Drilling is being carried out with the help of the latest equipment and technology.  The projected depth of the well amounts to 6,300 metres.
The participants at the meeting examined Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz's proposals for extending collaboration with the Republic of Tajikistan in the field of exploration. Representatives from Gazprom and Gazprom zarubezhneftegaz get up to speed with project progress in Tajikistan.
This concerns a number of prospective objects in the north and south of the Republic which the company is interested in examining.
The possibility of extending the geography of Gazprom's presence in Tajikistan was discussed at a meeting between Emomali Rakhmon (President of the Republic of Tajikistan) and Aleksey Miller (Gazprom's Chief Executive) on 7 December 2010.
 Within the context of a visit to the city of Vakhdat, a committee inspected logistical and production facilities, and also visited the Shakhrinav-1P drilling field, located within the Shakhrinav licensed area, where it familiarised itself with the production process and the technology employed by the operator for drilling the first ultradeep exploratory well.
Following the visit, the Gazprom delegation gave a favourable assessment of the operator's activities in hydrocarbon exploration and prospecting in Tajikistan and noted that the Russian side attached great importance to collaboration with the Republic of Tajikistan in the oil-and-gas sector.