Major part of this volume (about 95%) comes from the Khauzak-Shady field in the Bukhara Region which makes a part of the Kandym-Khauzak-Shady-Kungrad megaproject that is being implemented jointly with Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company, the release said.

PSA for the project was signed in 2004 for a term of 35 years. Commercial production of gas on the field started in November 2007 and as early as one year after Khauzak-Shady has reached the design production rate of 3 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

Follow-up exploration of the contract area confirmed that development of West Shady (in operation since November 2011) and North Shady (start-up scheduled for 2014) areas can provide for their considerable increase in gas reserves (by 26 billion cubic meters), improve technical and economic indicators of the project and increase gas production.

Natural gas production under the South-West Gissar project (which has been implemented since 2007 and was joined by LUKOIL in 2008) began in December 2011 on the largest field of the block, Dzharkuduk-Yangi Kyzylcha.

Before that oil on the block was produced from South Kyzylbayrak and Koshkuduk fields. Accumulated gas production of this project has reached 0.8 billion cubic meters.