DUSHANBE, January 3, Asia-Plus - Gazprom has been granted two licenses by the government of Tajikistan for the geological prospecting of natural gas and oil fields in the Central Asian republic, RIA Novosti quoted the energy giant as saying on December 29.  

The licenses were issued under a strategic cooperation agreement signed between Gazprom and the Tajik government May 15, 2003.

The Rengan gas field is located 20 kilometers south of the republic''s capital, Dushanbe, with probable natural gas reserves of 35 billion cubic meters.

The Sargazon field is based in the Danghara district of the Khatlon province, some 150 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe, with probable gas reserves of 30 billion cubic meters.

By now, 12 oil and gas fields have been discovered in Tajikistan, of which two gas and five oil deposits are being developed.

Tajikistan’s annual requirements in natural gas are more than 1.2 billion cubic meters.

In 2005, Tajikistan produced 29.4 million cubic meters of gas.