Uzbek President Islam Karimov has signed a decree approving a minimum work program for a consortium exploring the Uzbek sector of the inland Aral Sea. Members of the Aral Sea Operating Co. - which include state Uzbekneftegas, Russia's Lukoil Overseas, Malaysia's state Petronas, China's CNPC International an South Korea's Korea National Oil Corp. - have to drill three exploration wells and spend at least $17 million, Russia's Trend news agency reported Monday. The consortium sealed a 25-year production-sharing agreement for the area in August 2006 (IOD Aug.29'06). Work is in three phases. The first, costing almost $100 million, is for nearly 3,000 km of seismic surveys. The second, worth at least $200 million, is for exploration drilling, and the third for predevelop-ment work.
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