PRESS: Zarubezhneft may start exploration in Kazakhstan

MOSCOW, Oct 11 (PRIME) -- Russian state-controlled oil company Zarubezhneft is discussing participation in on-land geological exploration projects in Kazakhstan with Kazakh state oil and gas company KazMunayGas, Kommersant business daily reported on Monday quoting KazMunayGas CEO Alik Aidarbayev.

“We have opened a data room on some new exploration projects. The Russian company has experience of working in different countries and at sea, and it can attract investment, which is very important,” Aidarbayev said as quoted by Kommersant.

The list of possible projects includes the Urikhtau project in the Aktobe Region and the Ural Oil & Gas project in the west of Kazakhstan.

The Urikhtau project comprises three fields with combined reserves of 12 million tonnes of oil and 40 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas with expected annual output at 500,000 tonnes of oil and 1.5 bcm of gas.

“We have partners in the project in the west of Kazakhstan, they are Chinese, and we would like to see a Russian company because there are gas problems,” the business daily quoted Aidarbayev as saying.

A Zarubezhneft representative told Kommersant that there had been no formalized agreements yet, the form of participation and possible stakes as well as other conditions were under discussion. Still, the Russian company considers natural gas projects as one of priorities in the long term, and Kazakhstan is a promising direction, the representative said.

The Ural Oil & Gas project includes the Fyodorovsky block with the Rozhkovskoye field, which has recoverable condensate reserves of 15 million tonnes and gas reserves of 62 bcm. Commercial production should start there in 2023.

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