Zarubezhneft: May Start Exploration in Kazakhstan
The state company Zarubezhneft is discussing with the NC KazMunayGas participation in onshore exploration projects in Kazakhstan. Possible options include Urikhtau and Ural Oil & Gas in Aktobe and West Kazakhstan regions.
“We have opened a data room for some new exploration projects. The Russian company has experience of working in different countries, at sea and, which is very important, the opportunity to attract investments, “said Alik Aidarbayev, Chairman of the Board of the Kazakhstani company, Kommersant.
According to him, “in the project in the west of Kazakhstan we have partners – the Chinese, and we wanted to see a Russian company there, because there are gas issues”.
The form and shares of participation have not been determined and are under consideration by the parties, as well as other conditions for entering potential projects. Gas production projects are one of the company’s long-term development focuses, therefore Kazakhstan is viewed as a promising area.
The Urikhtau project includes the Central Urikhtau, East Urikhtau and South Urikhtau fields with reserves of 12 million tons of oil and 40 billion cubic meters. m of gas. Expected annual production is 500 thousand tons of oil and 1.5 billion cubic meters. m of gas. Ural Oil & Gas includes the Fedorovsky block, where the Rozhkovskoye field was discovered, recoverable reserves of condensate and gas were estimated at 15 million tons of oil and 62 billion cubic meters. m of gas. Commercial production at the field is expected in 2023.
Earlier in September, Zarubezhneft and KazMunayGas signed an agreement of intent to implement joint investment projects, but they were not named.
