Uzbekistan has for the second time this week reported a record high flow rate from a new well.

The Energy Ministry said exploration well 54 on the North Mubarek field in the south of the country flowed at the rate of 400,000 cubic metres per day of gas during testing.

The well was spudded by the country’s largest drilling contractor Eriell to assess the potential of deep layers that lie below existing Jurassic formations.

Such deep formations have been tested for the presence of commercial hydrocarbons for the first time during almost 70 years of gas developments in the country, the ministry added.

In 2017, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev ordered state-owned oil and gas producer Uzbekneftegaz to move forward with an assignment to drill about 300 exploration and development wells at existing blocks until end of 2019.

The goal of the drilling programme is to arrest the decline in gas production in the country following years of low investments into brownfield project under previous President Islam Karimov.

Uzbekneftegaz has contracted Eriell for the job, with the company completing 248 wells so far, the company said earlier this week.

With most of the probes drilled into traditional formations already in production, Eriell said that flows from development wells varied between 13,000 cmd and 90,000 cmd.

Ffracking efforts at some of the wells resulted in flow rates rising to between 122,000 cmd and 250,000 cmd.

The ministry said that the confirmation of commercial gas reserves in deeper layers is a promising sign for the country’s efforts to increase gas production, as similar formations are believed to be present at Uzbekneftegaz’ operated South Mubarek, Shumak and Shurtepa fields.

Under Mirziyoyev, who assumed the top post in Uzbekistan at the end of 2016, the country has set a national goal of becoming energy independent by increasing gas production to remove domestic deficit, grow gas exports and process more gas into higher value polymers.

Additionally, gas will be converted to synthetic fuels to permit the country to halt oil and oil products imports, as its own oil production is believed to have less perspective to grow against gas output.

Exploration

Uzbekistan cheers latest gas well flow record