The company said that six perspective horizons were revealed at Kumoy-2 well with 4,170 meters depth and the company will test them.

In the result of these works, which will be completed by the end of the year, the company will make first assessment on perspectives of this gas-bearing area. According to preliminary data, the productive objects have high quality methane gases with low content of sulphuretted hydrogen and carbonic acid gas.

Kumoy area is located within Shakhpakhti investment block and 25 km away from Djel field, which was opened by Gazprom in 2009. Forecasted resources of the field are estimated at 6 billion cubic meters of gas and 40,000 tonnes of gas condensate.

The company carried out full complex of geological exploration works within the five-year programme, which was completed in the beginning of 2012. Currently, the company is calculating reserves of the field, which will be submitted to the State Commission on reserves under the Cabinet of Ministers.

Cooperation of Gazprom and Uzbekistan is based on agreement on principles of exploration of entrails at investment blocks of Ustyurt region from 2006. The agreement envisages providing Gazprom exclusive right for development of new hydrocarbon fields based on production-sharing agreement.

Djel field is located 235 km from Central Asia - Center gas pipeline. Gazprom had invested US$400 million to exploration works at Ustyurt region since December 2006.

At the same time with exploration works, Gazprom International caries out development of Shakhpakhti field in Karakalpakstan.

LUKoil has succeeded where natural gas exporter Gazprom failed, supplying fuel to China.

Gas from LUKoil's fields in Uzbekistan, where output generates more profit per barrel of oil equivalent than western Siberian crude, is flowing to China under an agreement with its Uzbek partners, LUKoil deputy chief executive Leonid Fedun said.

"We are already supplying and will supply gas to China," Fedun said. "We have a pipeline project, with very good netbacks, supplying China."

Gazprom failed to sign a supply contract with China last year after at least a decade of talks. The company hasn't been able to agree on prices with China, which has instead built pipelines to gas- rich Central Asian states.

LUKoil plans to produce as much as 19 billion cubic meters (119.5 million barrels) of gas a year at peak from deposits in Uzbekistan, Fedun said in June last year. The company provides volumes to the Uzbek state, which has a sales agreement with China, he said.

Sales in the Central Asian nation last year generated $18 of net income per barrel of oil equivalent compared with $11 for western Siberian crude, according to a presentation he gave late last month in London.  

Russia's Lukoil has increased the resource base of Kandym block in Uzbeistan, as a result of exploration work on the site, a company statement said on Wednesday.

According to Lukoil Overseas (Lukoil's operator of international upstream projects), the block's area covers1.142 million square kilometers, and the resource base during entry into the project is 255 million tons of equivalent fuel.

A 2D seismic survey of 1,300 running kilometers was carried out as part of the project; the geological structure of the block was clarified; the area of deposits under study was increased; and prospects of growth stocks - expected to exceed 60 million tons of fuel - were defined.

Atthe Kuvachi-Alat and Parsankul fields, where seismic survey and drilling of four exploration wells were conducted, the fields' project area was increased by one third and reserves of C1 were increased by 12 million tons of equivalent fuel. Exploration costs for 2011 amounted to $16 million.

In 2012, the company plans to complete the testing of three more wells in the Parsankul field, conduct a 2D seismic survey of 300 running kilometers, and perform a rapid conversion of reserves. Exploration costs in 2012 are expected to total $41 million.

Lukoil also plans to conduct a 3D seismic survey of 2,100 square kilometers and drill 10 exploratory wells before 2016.

Kandym group was developed under the PSA for the "Kandym-Khauzak-Shady-Kungrad" project, which was signed in June, 2004 for 35 years. The partners are "Lukoil" (operator with a 90 per cent stake) and the Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company (10 percent stake). The volume of investments is estimated to exceed $4 billion.

The agreement facilitates the development of Khauzak, Shady and Kandym group fields. Lukoil plans to produce more than 12 billion cubic meters of gas and more than200,000 tons of liquid hydrocarbons per year.