Azernews.Az

MOSCOW – The reserves of the Karikamysh field in western Tajikistan are estimated at some 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas, which will provide for meeting the republic's demand for this fuel for many years, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told reporters on Tuesday, following his meeting with Tajik leader Emomali Rakhmon, Itar-Tass reported.

"I reported to President Rakhmon that if we secure industrial production at this field, Tajikistan will have natural gas for many years," Miller said.

He also informed the president about the beginning of drilling of the first and deepest (6,300 meters) well at Sarikamysh, located 35 kilometers west of Dushanbe. "It's one of the important reasons behind the working visit to Dushanbe," the Gazprom CEO said.

Alexei Miller reminded that Gazprom Tajikneftegaz is prospecting for hydrocarbons in four promising licensed areas: Sarikamysh, Sargazon, Rengan and western Shokhambary.

"The company has allocated 53 million dollars for prospecting works; it is importing state-of-the-art equipment. All the works are running at a good rate, because we're aware of the significance of energy resources for Tajikistan," he underlined.

In the course of the talk with the Tajik president, the parties discussed Gazprom's larger participation in developing promising oil and gas fields in the north of the country.

"We've discussed with the president the problem of skilled personnel for the oil and gas sector; Russia has a good school to train these specialists, so we're ready to help," the Gazprom CEO said.

After the meeting with the Tajik president, Miller went to attend the launch of the first well. Taking part in the ceremony were director general of Zarubezhneftegaz Valery Gulev, head of the office in Tajikistan Sergei Tumanov and representatives of the republic's government.