The Mingbulakneft joint venture founded by Uzbekneftegaz and the Chinese CNPC obtained the first oil from the Mingbulak field in Namangan province, the Ministry of Energy said.
According to the Ministry of Energy, the main difficulties in developing the Mingbulak field are reportedly the depths (from 6000 m and more); high reservoir pressure (over 115 MPa) and reservoir temperature (over 168 degrees Celsius).
CNPC has applied its experience based on the development of similar fields in the Tarim Basin of China, the ministry added.
In October 2011, CNPC and Uzbekneftegaz signed the basic principles cooperation agreement for the joint development of the Mingbulak field.
The Chinese company plans to invest US$ 255.3 million for the field development, reaching an annual design capacity of up to 200 thousand tons.
JV Mingbulakneft was established on a parity basis by Andijanneft (part of Uzneftegazdobycha, subsidiary of Uzbekneftegaz) and CNPC.
The Mingbulak field was discovered in 1992. According to Uzbekneftegaz, the total recoverable reserves of the field are about 2 million tons.
