Kazakhstan completing Eurasia Project Stage I, drilling superdeep well for hydrocarbons

ASTANA. Oct 20 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan will by the end of this year complete the Eurasia Project Stage I to study the Caspian Depression deep structure and plans nearer the end of November to hold a meeting with a consortium of companies involved in the completion of the first stage for briefing, Kazakh Minister of Environment, Geology and Natural Resources Serikkali Brekeshev told a Thursday briefing.

He said the Eurasia Project consists of three stages. Within the framework of the first stage the collection, processing and reinterpretation of geological and geophysical materials are underway using modern technology and funded from the government budget with nearly 2.6 billion tenge allocated for this purpose.

The implementation of second and third stages is planned at the expense of private investments, within the framework of which it is planned to conduct regional 2D seismic surveys across over 8,000 linear kilometers, field surveys and remote sensing of the Earth in promising covering up to 100,000 square kilometers, drilling of a superdeep well to a depth of 15 km, which would allow studying the geological section and assessing the Caspian depression resource potential with regard to hydrocarbon prospecting, he said.

At the same time, the minister said that "to date, contractors have not yet been identified for the second and third stages, and this work will be carried out using extra-budgetary funds.

As reported earlier, in September 2014 the Russian and Kazakh presidents launched the joint Eurasia project to drill a 15-kilometer-deep well in the Caspian Depression. The goal of the project is to discover hydrocarbon reservoirs at a depth of approximately 7-9 kilometers in the Caspian Depression area.

The depth of the oil reservoir in the Caspian Depression is over 5,000 meters. Its possible reserves are estimated between 40-60 billion tonnes of oil equivalent.

In June 2017, KMG-Eurasia LLP which is part of National Company KazMunayGas, Eni, RN Exploration LLC which is part of Rosneft, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), NEOS Geosolutions, Agip Caspian Sea B.V. and the government of Kazakhstan signed a memorandum of understanding aiming to conclude a contract for geological exploration of the Caspian Depression in accordance with the Kazakh legislation.

In 2018 Kazakhstan was planning to announce the Eurasia Project data for drilling of a super-deep well in the Caspian Depression. A number of leading world companies such as Rosneft, CNPC, SOCAR, Eni and others confirmed their interest in this project. In addition, a number of Western companies expressed their willingness to join its implementation.