DUSHANBE , January 26, Asia-Plus - Uzbekistan will supply 650 million cubic of natural gas to Tajikistan this year, which is 20 million cubic meters more compared to 2005.  

Tajik Minister of Energy, Jurabek Nurmahmadov, told journalists this on Wednesday [January 25].  “This volume and the amount of gas being produced in Tajikistan (30-32 million cubic meters a year) should be enough for this year,” Nurmahmadov said, noting that in case of necessity Tajikistan will negotiate additional purchase of natural gas with Uzbekistan.

The minister also told journalists that in near future, they possibly resume works on developing the republic’s gas fields that had earlier been started by Russia’s Gazprom joint-stock company.  

 The aggregate raw-materials resources of the oil and gas bearing areas in Tajikistan amount to about 1,000 billion tons of reference fuel, according to expert estimates.

Nurmahmadov says production work at oil and gas fields require considerable expenditure, since hydrocarbon deposits occur at depths ranging from 6.5 to 7 kilometers.