DUSHANBE, February 7, 2011, Asia-Plus -- Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz has launched additional 2D seismic survey at the Sargazon gas field, according to the Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz representative office in Dushanbe.

They use common-depth-point shooting to explore a 60-kilometer geological cross-section from the Sargazon field to the Vakhsh Valley.

2D seismic modeling can be used to look at such things as the resolution of thin beds or the different responses of various fluids, e.g. oil, gas or brine in a potential reservoir sand.  It may also be used to test out different geometries of structures such as salt diapirs, to see which gives the best match to the original seismic data.

We will recall that 3D seismic survey at the Sargazon field was completed in September 2010.

During the planning of a seismic survey, 3D modeling can be used to test the effect of variation in seismic acquisition parameters, such as the shooting direction or the maximum offset between source and receiver, on the imaging of a particular geological structure.

Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz is an affiliate of Russia’s state-controlled gas company Gazprom.  Gazprom has received licenses from the Tajik government to explore four oil-and-gas reserves in Tajikistan: Rengan; Sargazon; Sariqamish; and the Western Shaambari.  The Rengan field, located in the Roudaki district has possible gas reserves of 35 billion cubic meters and the Sargazon field, located in Khatlon province has possible reserves of 30 billion cubic meters.

Of all the four licensed sites of Gazprom in Tajikistan, Sariqamish is estimated as the most promising. We will recall that during his visit to Dushanbe, the Gazprom top manager Aleksei Miller noted on December 7, 2010 that on the basis of the seismic surveys they have conducted they understand that the estimated reserves of the Sariqamish field is 60 billion cubic meters of gas.  According to him, this amount is enough to supply Tajikistan for 50 years.

According to expert estimates, the aggregate raw-materials resources of the oil and gas bearing areas in Tajikistan amount to about 1,000 billion tons of reference fuel.  At the same time, production work at oil and gas fields require considerable expenditure, since hydrocarbon deposits occur at depths ranging from 6.5 to 8 kilometers.