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Prospects in Aral Sea Region
Uzbek geologists forecast promising deposits
In recent years, Aral Sea and adjacent southern territory attracts an increased interest as a promising area for prospecting new deposits of hydrocarbons. Ustyurt Plateau, including the Aral Sea, and adjacent Karakum and Kizilkum deserts, historically treated as a once existed vast water body stretched from the Caucasus in the west to the Tian Shan in the east.
 Eastern Ustyurt, located between the oil and gas regions – Emba, South Mangishlak, Bukhoro, Khiva – considered by many scientists and researchers as a highly promising area for oil and gas production. The territory of Eastern Ustyurt was explored for oil and gas by all geological and geophysical methods (geological mapping, seismic work, drilling of deep boreholes), which confirmed the predictions.
In conversation with the UT correspondent, Nodir Mukhitdinov, deputy director of the Oil and Gas Geology and Exploration Institute, said: “Currently, the geological study of the Uzbek part of Aral Sea area is conducted in accordance with the decree of the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan ‘On the geological study of the Uzbek part of Aral Sea and the subsequent development of newly discovered fields in terms of the Product Sharing Agreement’ by a consortium of investors of five major companies: Uzbekneftegaz (Uzbekistan) Petronas Carigali (Malaysia), CNPC (China), KNOS (Korea) and Lukoil (Russia).”
Since 2007, the waters of Aral Sea were explored by 2D seismic surveys using modern geophysical equipment. The opportunities for successful marine seismic surveys in these areas are especially worthy of note.
As a result of geophysical surveys and processing of data through the latest software systems the prospectors were able to identify four promising fields in Jurassic deposits and prepare them for deep drilling: West Aral, Umid, Aktepa and Shagala. In addition, in the eastern and western parts of the investigated areas prospectors discovered Kinderli, Central Aral structure and a number of other objects.
From the abovementioned promising sites for exploration drilling investors have chosen the Western Aral. As a result of drilling and testing of the Jurassic deposits prospectors got commercial influx of gas and condensate, and also opened a new gas condensate field. This has proved high potential of the Uzbek part of Aral Sea area in the discovery of new reserves of hydrocarbons and confirmed the forecasts of Uzbek geologists.
“We have scheduled for 2010 the second exploration well in Shagala area. If the well yields the produce from the Cretaceous, Jurassic, and possibly Paleozoic sediments, we will open a new line of oil and gas prospecting in the eastern part of the Aral Sea,” noted N. Mukhitdinov.
Currently, investors are considering options of drilling new exploration wells in Aktepa and Umid, as well as accelerating the exploration for deposits in western Aral Sea with the options of natural gas production. The increased interest of domestic and foreign companies in this region can be associated to its high oil and gas prospects and sufficient infrastructure, availability of existing natural-gas pipelines and transport links.
Gulnara Zufarova, UT
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