Tethys Petroleum posts increase in Kazakhstan oil and gas reserves

Tethys Petroleum has unveiled a major increase in its proved and probable reserves in Kazakshstan.

The upgrade in oil reserves comes as a result of the 2011 Kazakhstan drilling campaign including the Doris appraisal wells AKD05 and AKD06, and the AKD03 exploration well, which discovered the Dione field.

Total proved and probable reserves at the end of last year stood at 25.3 million barrels of oil equivalent, marking a 45% increase, while the proved reserves were up 96% to 14.5 million BOE.

Tethys Petroleum CEO David Robson said that the 2011 drilling programme was focused on two objectives, increasing proved and probable reserves and ensuring sufficient oil production was available to meet the company’s production targets.

"This programme has successfully met both objectives," Robson added.

Net oil reserves comprised 12.5 million barrels of proved and probable oil, up 62% and proved and probable net gas reserves stood at 76.7 billion cubic feet, an increase of 31%.

The next appraisal well, AKD07, is expected to spud in the second quarter of 2012 and is located to the south-east of the original AKD01 discovery well.

The company will disclose the prospective resource for this new target after the completion of a new independent Kazakhstan Resource Report, which is expected in the second quarter of this year.