Gas deposits with a volume of 16 billion cubic meters have been found in Georgia, according to Giorgi Tatishvili, head of the National Gas and Oil Agency of the country's Ministry of the Economy

"We have confirmed the presence of gas reserves of 16 billion cubic meters. For clarity, this volume is equivalent to eight years of gas consumption in all of Georgia," Tatishvili said.

According to him, a gas field was discovered near Tbilisi, but he did not specify in which area, Business Media reports.

The reserves were were found near Tbilisi by the oilfield services company Schlumberger. Currently, the operator of the license is Block Energy, whose shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. The company's main field of activity is oil and gas exploration in Georgia. The company owns the right to extract resources from Blocks IX and XI (B).

According to Tatishvili, the license requires horizontal drilling, and under the conditions of its utilization, the country will be able to fully meet the demand for eight years of natural gas.

Block Energy is expected to start working on the project late this year or early next year. Horizontal drilling should be done here to cover more rock and extract more commercial gas. At the same time, Block Energy is doing horizontal drilling in old wells, which has led to an increase in gas extraction by 80%.