Kazakhstan, Astana, March 14 / Trend D. Mukhtarov /
There are prospects of discovering shale gas fields in the south and central parts of Kazakhstan, senior mining engineer in Saudi Arabia and member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Aslan Bulekbaev said on Wednesday.
"The Almaty region (southern Kazakhstan), namely, Kenegotek and Zharkent blocks may be promising areas," he told Trend via e-mail. "There are also prospects of discovering large shale gas deposits in the Karaganda region (Central Kazakhstan)."
He added that the promising blocks in Kazakhstan are found in many areas, but one of the most promising is the Zhezkazgan region (Central Kazakhstan).
He stressed that the regional tectonics and data of the drilled wells give reason to believe of large stocks of tight gas in the Kazakh Zhezkazgan region. There is a junction of two major plates: Chu and Sarysu, a group of Kumkol oil and gas fields and on the other side, a group of Amangeldy gas fields. There is also roadside deposit.
"The commercial development of shale gas fields has very important social significance for the region," he said. "The exploration wells in the Talapskaya block have been drilled about 20 kilometres from the city of Zhezkazgan. The city and its satellite town of Satpayev have not had gas installed. While discovering a large deposit of shale or tight gas and its commercial production, it is possible to completely provide Karaganda and Astana with gas."
It was previously reported that one of the points of the presidential message 'Socio-economic modernization - the main vector of Kazakhstan's development' is the industrial and innovative development where Central Kazakhstan's gasification project has been indicated.
"French Total SA has recently bought a 25 per cent share in the shale deposit Utica (Ohio) for $2.3 million by selling some oil assets," he said. "The Total SA head explained to journalists that the oil fields will remain in the past and the company's policy will focus on the development of alternative gas production. For example, Qatar has already converted methane to liquid fuel."
"It is necessary to drill long horizontal wells for commercial shale gas extraction," the expert added.