DUSHANBE, April 24, Asia-Plus - In exploring reserves of its oil and gas fields, Tajikistan prefers to cooperation with Russia’s Gazprom, Energy and Industries Minister Sherali Gulov remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe on April 24.  

According to him, the main task of the Tajik side is to monitor and anlyze activity of Gazprom in the country.   “If the Russian company fulfills its obligations conscientiously we will grant it licenses for exploring two other gas fields in Tajikistan – Western Shohambari and Sariqamish,” the minister said.  

According to him, geological survey of the gas field Rengan in the Rudaki district is under way and the work on exploration of reserves of the Sargazon field in Danghara will start soon.  

We will recall that Gazprom was granted two licenses by the government of Tajikistan for the geological prospecting of natural gas and oil fields in Tajikistan I December last year.  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 in the Rudaki district, 20 kilometers south of 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 needs more than 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year.