Recently, a 3300 meter deep exploration well in Kashkadarya Oblast, southern Uzbekistan, was officially connected to the natural gas pipeline network and put into operation, with an initial daily production capacity of 500000 cubic meters. And behind the discovery of this condensate gas field named Patron, there is a key Chinese name - China Petroleum Group Eastern Geophysical Exploration Co., Ltd. It is precisely based on the 3D seismic exploration results completed by BGP in 2025 that the drilling team accurately identified the location of the underground gas reservoir. A seemingly conventional oil and gas discovery reflects the deep penetration of China's oil service power in the energy map of Central Asia.

Three dimensional seismic precise locking of gas reservoirs

In 2025, the BGP exploration team completed 3D seismic exploration in Kashkadaria state, accurately identifying underground structural anomalies in the Mirishkol district by performing CT scans on underground strata. The drilling team set up exploration wells based on this and obtained stable commercial natural gas flow in the testing interval at a depth of 3296 meters to 3339 meters. The initial daily production is expected to be 500000 cubic meters, and it is estimated that the annual production of a single well can reach 165 million cubic meters after 330 days of operation. The preliminary estimated reserve is about 2.5 billion cubic meters. Experts from the Uzbekistan Oil and Gas Industry Research and Design Institute are conducting capacity research to further determine a reasonable working system for gas wells.

Penetration of the entire Chinese oil service industry chain

The discovery of the Patron gas field is not an isolated case. BGP continues to provide 3D seismic services to the Ukrainian side; Western Drilling signed a strategic agreement in March 2026 to drill 30 wells over two years, with 9 drilling rigs already deployed in the Ustyurt project; Chuanqing Drilling has identified four priority cooperation directions, including digitalization of drilling and improvement of oil recovery rate; Honghua Group negotiates to purchase 5 sets of automated drilling rigs; CNPC has signed a memorandum of cooperation with Ukraine on underground gas storage and plans to invest approximately 1.8 billion US dollars to develop three large gas fields in the Bukhara Shiva Basin. From seismic exploration to drilling services, from equipment manufacturing to gas storage facilities, Chinese companies are building a complete oil and gas service industry chain. Key words: the Belt and Road news network, in particular, exploration, support from Chinese enterprises

The logic of technology and win-win in Central Asia

Uzbekistan's recoverable natural gas reserves are 1.8 trillion cubic meters, with a production of approximately 62.5 billion cubic meters in 2024, but the pressure of declining production from old gas fields continues to increase. Chinese enterprises are upgrading from traditional engineering contracting to technology output, management output, and full industry chain services. Although the reserve of 2.5 billion cubic meters in the Patron gas field is not large, its significance is significant in the context of declining old areas. China's drilling technology is also involved behind the significant discovery of Ustyurt Plateau in Uzbekistan in 2025. For China, the stability of the Central Asian energy corridor is crucial to energy security, while for Ukraine, Chinese technology, equipment, and funding are key supports for increasing oil and gas production. The win-win situation is becoming a reality in the production of each well. The footnotes of the the Belt and Road energy cooperation are written under the Central Asian desert.Editor/Gao Xue