DUSHANBE, March 18, 2014, Asia-Plus -- Tajik Deputy Prime Minister, Azim Ibrohim, visited the Shahrinav-1P wildcat well, which is operated by Gazprom International’s Office in Tajikistan, at the end of last week.

Azim Ibrohim reportedly got acquainted with the production process.  Gazprom International is expected to conclude the Shahrinav-1P wildcat well test in the summer this year.

Gazprom International, an affiliate of Russia’s state-controlled company Gazprom, completed the drilling of the Shahrinva-1P wildcat well at the Sariqamish field, Shahrinav district in central Tajikistan, some 36 kilometers southwest of Dushanbe, on June 11, 2013.  They reached the target well depth of 6,450 meters.

While in Shahrinav, Azim Ibrohim also discussed with the head of Gazprom International’s Office in Tajikistan, Igor Shatalov, the beginning of exploration operations at the Western Shohambari field.

Shatalov reportedly noted that the company is currently making preparations for carrying out exploration operations at that field.

We will recall that Gazprom now has licenses to explore two oil-and-gas reserves in Tajikistan: Sariqamish and the Western Shohambari.  In September 2013, Gazprom’s licenses for exploration of Sariqamish and Western Shohambari fields were extended for five years.

During his visit to Tajikistan, Gazprom chief Alexei Miller told journalists on September 18, 2013 that his company is interested in obtaining more licenses to explore natural-gas fields in Tajikistan.

According to Miller, Gazprom has invested some $150 million in two major natural-gas fields in Tajikistan''s north since 2010.

In August 2013, Gazprom reportedly announced an additional $15 million investment in its operations at the Sariqamish gas field.

Cooperation between the Tajik government and Russia’s state-controlled company Gazprom is regulated by a long-term (till 2028) agreement on strategic cooperation in the gas industry signed between Gazprom and Tajikistan’s Ministry of Energy in Dushanbe on May 15, 2003 and a memorandum of intent on launching joint Tajik-Russian enterprises of March 28, 2006.  Gazprom has been working in Tajikistan on providing the beginning of geological explorations since July 2006.

According to expert estimates, the aggregate raw-materials resources of the oil and gas bearing areas in Tajikistan amount to about 1,000 billion tons of reference fuel.  At the same time, production work at oil and gas fields require considerable expenditure, since hydrocarbon deposits occur at depths ranging from 6.5 to 8 kilometers.