Tethys Tajikistan seismic targets deep presalt reefs

Tethys Petroleum Ltd. has tendered for 870 line-km of 2D seismic to be shot in mid-2012 in Tajikistan’s Dushanbe step and Vaksh valley to help it identify the location for a deep, presalt well.

Initial analysis of data from an aerial graviometry survey completed at the end of 2011 has revealed several attractive prospective areas with the potential presence of very large deep subsalt and subthrust prospects on the Bokhtar production sharing contract area. The seismic will target these areas and provide the final data in a comprehensive program to optimally locate a deep well.

The company expects to mobilize its Telesto land rig to Tajikistan before yearend to drill the well. The rig’s depth capacity exceeds 7,000 m.

The large deep prospects include potential Jurassic reefs on the edge of likely Permian basement high features. Jurassic reefs form some of the most prolific fields in the Amu Darya basin, and no well has been drilled through the overlying salt layer in Tajikistan to date. The same reservoirs are large producers in adjacent countries including Turkmenistan.

The aerogravimetry data also reveal large potential in other parts of the PSC, including the Kulob area, but Tethys will focus initially on the Dushanbe step and the Vaksh valley.

Tethys now owns an 85% interest in the Bokhtar PSC after having acquired a further 34% interest from its partner.