DUSHANBE, October16, 2008, Asia-Plus -- Canada’s Tethys Petroleum (Tethys) has started rehabilitation of the gas field Komsomol-18 in the settlement of Louchob, Dushanbe.

 Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Nazri Bahodurov of Tethys said that rehabilitation of the Komsomol-180 field will be completed by the end of this month.  “The supply of daily natural gas from one gas well of this field is expected to amount to 10,000-15,000 cubic meters, while the filed has 18 such wells,” Bahodurov said, noting that they plan to extract 2 million cubic meters of natural gas from the Komsomol-18 field.  

This deposit was discovered in 1953 already.  In the Soviet time, the Komsomol-18 field had the possible gas reserves of 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas.  From 1963 to 1993, 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas were extracted from this field, Bahodurov said.     

As it had been reported earlier, Tethys, an independent upstream energy firm with a focus on Central Asia, on June 13 this year signed a deal with Tajikistan to develop five natural gas fields here.   

Following the signing ceremony, Tajik Energy and Industries Minister Gul Sherali said that under the agreement the company is granted licenses for 56 gas and oil fields in Tajikistan, including five gas fields such as Khoja Sartez, Uzunohor, Pushiyon and South Pushiyon.  According to him, the fields have total estimated reserves of 1,500 billion cubic meters.  The production sharing deal gives Tajikistan 30 percent of output at the first stage and 50 percent once Tethys recovers its costs, Gul said.