Chinese CNPC to start development of new gas fields in Uzbekistan this year

Almaty. March 16. Silkroadnews – In the second half of 2017 the Uzbek-Chinese joint venture “New Silk Road Oil & Gas Company Ltd” will start arranging and production of gas on the fields of the Karakul investment block (Bukhara region), the investment program for 2017 states, Trend reports.

According to the document, feasibility study of the $377.5-million project on “Arranging the Khojasayat section of the Dengizkul, Khojadavlat and Sharky Alat deposits of the gas condensate field” has been approved by the government.
The feasibility study projects, when reaching the designed capacity, the annual fields’ output is expected to amount to 869.6 million cubic meters of natural gas and 6.4 thousand tonnes of condensate.

The China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC), a subsidiary of China’s CNPC, will be contracted to develop the fields, including carrying out works on the design, logistics, construction and commissioning of infrastructure facilities for the gas fields development in the Karakul investment block.

Drilling of 11 production wells will be carried out by “XIBU Drilling Engineering Company Ltd”, while “China National Logging Corporation” will be in charge of repair and testing of production wells at the Karakul investment block.

The project will be financed out of the Chinese loans under the guarantee of CNPC.

In 2013 “Uzbekneftegaz” and CNODC created on a parity basis a JV “New Silk Road Oil & Gas Company Ltd” for arrangement of gas condensate fields Dengizkul, Khodjadavlet and Sharky Alat (Karakul investment block), opened by a Chinese investor in the course of their own exploration. Initially, the implementation of the project for development of these fields was planned to begin in 2014, then postponed till 2015 and 2016, yet these plans could not be realized.

At present, in Uzbekistan, CNPC participates in the implementation of the project for construction and operation of the Uzbek part of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline system.