TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- China National Offshore Oil Corp. has begun oil and gas exploration in Uzbekistan’s Fergana Region.

“The construction of a 5,600-meter-deep borehole, which started in the third quarter of this year, is expected to be finished in June 2008,” Tursunali Yoldoshev, an Uzbek geologist told Fargona TV Wednesday. “At present intensive work is being carried out to achieve this aim.”

The work is part of the Qorajiyda-Gumxona project, a bid by Uzbekistan to shore up foreign investment in oil and gas exploration and production.

“The CNBC Silk Road Group company, a daughter enterprise of this corporation, in cooperation with the Uzbekneftegas national holding company has started oil and gas exploration in five regions of Uzbekistan,” said Van Hon Ji, the manager of the project. “One of the main tasks of the project is to ensure the quality of the construction which is successfully being carried out by builders.”

“Uzbekistan sit(s) on large reserves of oil and natural gas reserves yet … face(s) challenges in getting those reserves to world markets,” the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. Department of Energy’s data arm, says.

According to the Oil and Gas Journal, Uzbekistan has 594 million barrels of proven oil reserves, with 171 discovered oil and natural gas fields. Most of the oil fields are in the Bukhara-Khiva region, including Kokdumalak, which makes up 70 percent of production, the EIA says. Oil fields are also present in Fergana, the Ustyurt plateau and the Aral Sea.

The country has 66.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, making it the No. 2 natural gas producer in the Commonwealth of Independent States.