Under Government Resolution No. 135 of 23 October 2024, the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority was granted the right to sign a production-sharing agreement with UGS LLC for the Tuv XXXVI coal-bed methane exploration area.
Accordingly, L. Bayarmandal, Head of the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority, and Mehmet Ridvan Karpuz, Chief Executive of UGS, signed the agreement today (22 November 2024).
The ceremony was attended by S. Javkhlanbaatar, State Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources; Ch. Khishigdalai, Director of the Ministry’s Petroleum Policy Implementation Department; Ch. Khandsuren, Head of the Environmental Assessment and Audit Division of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change; B. Tuvshinjargal, Director of the Petroleum Products Department, and E. Munkh-Ireedui, Head of the Petroleum Exploration Division, of the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority; Australian Ambassador Katie Smith; Chris Melville of the American-Mongolian Chamber of Commerce; G. Batzul, board member, and N. Tsedev of the European-Mongolian Chamber of Commerce; and other guests.
In his opening remarks L. Bayarmandal stressed: “Because the Tuv XXXVI area is the closest to the city, there are high expectations that defining and producing its coal-bed methane will let us move away from raw coal in future, use an ecologically clean fuel and play an important role in reducing the city’s air pollution. That is why, for sustainable environmental development and the common interest of the region and the nation, we have supported and worked alongside the companies operating in this sector in every way.”
He added that he was pleased the exploration agreement with UGS had progressed to the production-sharing stage at a time when the Government is aiming for a green energy transition.
Mehmet Ridvan Karpuz, Chief Executive of UGS, noted: “Besides being close to the city, the Tuv XXXVI area lies in a coal-rich zone, so the likelihood of finding and producing coal-bed methane is high. If exploration succeeds, we can create a new source of green energy for Ulaanbaatar.”
Four companies currently hold coal-bed methane exploration production-sharing agreements over six areas in Mongolia and have carried out continuous exploration since 2018. Australia’s UGS becomes the seventh company to sign such an agreement with the Government of Mongolia.
Source: mining.mn