News 2014
January, 2014Tethys
Tethys Petroleum Ltd, registered in Guernsey (Channel Islands), has decided on its withdrawal from the oil and gas projects in Uzbekistan, - as stated in the company’s press release issued on January 3. As it emerged from the message, the decision was made due to the changes took place in the political and business environment in Uzbekistan.
According to the company’s experts, the exit will take 3 months. "This decision will enable the Tethys to refocus its attention on other projects of the company", is stated in the press release. In particular, the company will more actively develop its businesses in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan.
In November 2013, the law-enforcement agencies of Uzbekistan initiated comprehensive audit of Tethys’s financial and economic activities as regards to the misappropriation of oil owned by the Uzbek party. According to various estimates, misappropriation of about USD30-40 mln is incriminated to the company.
In November, on a charge of oil misappropriation, the country’s law enforcement agencies have detained Mr Bahrom Salakhitdinov, Head of Tethys’s representation office in Uzbekistan. As informed by KazTAG, Tethys’s assets in Kazakhstan are represented by Kyzyloy and Akkulka gas fields as well as by Kul-Bas block. Tethys’s activities in Kazakhstan are located in the northern part of Ustyurt Basin, which is a triangular-shape geological basin westward of the Aral Sea. In November 2013, it became known that Tethys is going to sell 50% of its Kazakhstani oil and gas assets to the SinoHan Oil & Gas Investment B.V. (SinoHan), a business unit of the HanHong investment foundation from China. Tethys Petroleum is an open joint-stock company with main listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and secondary listing on the Kazakhstani Stock Exchange (KASE).