DUSHANBE, February 25, 2014, Asia-Plus – Tethys Petroleum Limited (Tethys), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Total S.A. (Total) that have shares in the Bokhtar Production Sharing Contract (PSC) have submitted their operation plans for consideration to the Government of Tajikistan.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR), the companies plan to start work in the area included in the PSC this year.

We will recall that Kulob Petroleum Limited, a Tajikistan-based wholly-owned subsidiary of Tethys, signed a farm-out agreement (FOA) for the Bokhtar Production Sharing Contract (PSC) in Tajikistan with subsidiaries of Total S.A. (Total) and the China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation (CNODC).

Terms highlights are the following: the interest in the PSC is held equally by the three partners namely Kulob Petroleum Limited (KPL), Total E&P Tajikistan B.V. (a subsidiary of Total S.A.) and CNODC Coop UA (a subsidiary of CNODC); Tethys owns an indirect 85% controlling interest in KPL; KPL will receive 66.67% of back costs amounting to a payment of approximately USD60 million in cash upon completion.  As funding for this project to date has been provided almost entirely by Tethys, monies received by KPL from this transaction will first be utilized to repay these loans to Tethys. The exact amount to be confirmed by the Tajikistan government; KPL will be partially carried on a USD80 million initial work program such that it will pay 33.33% of its share of costs (therefore the funding obligation will be approximately USD8.9 million of the USD80 million work program); the initial work program is expected to comprise of further seismic data acquisition followed by a deep exploration well.  The PSC will be operated by a Joint Operating Company to be set up and owned by KPL, Total and CNODC, in proportion to their ownership in the PSC.

Singed in 2008, the 25-year Bokhtar PSC reportedly covers a total area of approximately 35,000 square kilometers in the Afghan Tajik portion of the prolific Amu Darya basin west of the Pamir mountains.  The area included in the PSC is in the south-western part of Tajikistan and is a large, highly prospective region which has existing oil and gas discoveries but which has seen limited exploration to date.

According to Tethys, an independent Resource Report (dated June 30, 2012) estimates Gross unrisked mean recoverable resources of 27.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, consisting of 3.22 trillion cubic meters of gas and 8.5 billion barrels of oil.

Tethys is focused on oil and gas exploration and production activities in Central Asia with activities currently in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.  

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six “Supermajor” oil companies in the world.  Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading.  Total is also a large-scale chemicals manufacturer.  The company has its head office in the Tour Total in the La Défense district in Courbevoie, West of Paris.

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is a Chinese state-owned oil and gas corporation and the largest integrated energy company in the People''s Republic of China.  It has its headquarters in Dongcheng District, Beijing.