OREANDA-NEWS. June 17, 2010. Testing the deep prospect well in the Agayry gas-bearing structure in Hojambaz Etrap, Lebap Velayat resulted in discovering a new gas pool. The gas-bearing structure that produced this commercial gas inflow is located in the Bagtyyarlyk contractual territory on the right bank of the Amu Darya River developed by the specialists of the Chinese National Oil and Gas Corporation International (Turkmenistan) under the Production Sharing Agreement signed with the State Agency on Hydrocarbon Management and Use under the President of Turkmenistan.

According to the State Agency on Hydrocarbon Management and Use under the President of Turkmenistan, the first prospect well 21 in the Agayry gas-bearing structure was drilled at a depth of over 4,000 metres. A thick commercial gas inflow with the daily flow rate of over 130,000 cubic metres was received at a depth of 3,731-3,703 and 3,646 – 3,578 metres in the connecting pipe 17 mm in diameter.

According to the evaluations, the estimated total gas reserves in the Agayry gas-bearing structure makes up makes up over 73 billion cubic metres that allows ranking it as one of the largest gas deposits. This vividly proves that the territory on the right bank of the Amu Darya River is rich in hydrocarbon reserves.

At the first stage of this investment project dozens of large-scale facilities ensuring uninterrupted supply of natural gas to the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline have been built in close collaboration between Turkmen and Chinese specialists. In particular, the large Samandepe deposit was developed and put into production, the first gas processing plant with the capacity of 5 billion cubic metres of tank gas a year was constructed.

The second gas processing plant with the capacity of 8 billion cubic metres a year will be constructed in the Bagtyyarlyk contractual territory in the near future. After the plant is put into operation, it will supply gas extracted in newly developed fields on the right

It is planned to extract 13 billion cubic metres a year from gas natural fields located in the contractual territory. Along with drilling new production wells in the developed fields the Chinese contractors explore the contractual territory by using the advanced technology of volumetric prospecting seismology. According to the prospecting results, prospect and test drilling in gas bearing structures of the contractual territory is accelerated.

The large-scale mutually advantageous project on gas prospecting and extraction in the Bagtyyarlyk contractual territory and construction of Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline that will facilitate implementing the energy strategy of the Turkmen state that substantially contributes to building the global architecture of energy security is a bright illustration of effective and fruitful international cooperation between Turkmenistan and other countries.