Gazprom Begun Producing Gas In Uzbekistan

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has started producing natural gas at the Shakhpakhty field in Uzbekistan. The company operates under a Production Sharing Agreement.
Production will reach full capacity in 2006 and will amount to about 500 million cubic meters of gas per year. The gas will be transported to the northern border of Uzbekistan and exported by trunk pipeline.
This year Gazprom is expected to invest about $12 million in developing the Shakhpakhty field.
Gazprom and Uzbekneftegaz signed a PSA to extend the life of the Shakhpakhty field in the middle of April. The 15-year PSA calls for investment in the development of the field of $15 million in 2004-2007.
The Shakhpakhty field, development of which began in the 1970s, has residual reserves. Gas production at the field was halted in February 2002 due to the wear out of equipment at the compressor station and its inability to pump the gas produced into the Central Asia - Center pipeline system.