Document:

Amendment Agreement to the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement

 Exhibit 10.15 
 Execution copy 
 AMENDMENT AGREEMENT 
 TO THE SHARE ENCUMBRANCE AND PLEDGE AGREEMENT 
 THIS AMENDMENT AGREEMENT TO THE SHARE
ENCUMBRANCE AND PLEDGE AGREEMENT (this “Amendment Agreement”) dated as of May 24, 2006, is entered into among: 
 JSC TuranAlem
Securities, a joint stock company registered under the laws of Kazakhstan and holding broker-dealer license No. 0401200159, as Securities Agent under the Securities Agency Agreement of even date, acting on behalf of The Bank of New York, as
trustee under the Indenture described below (in such capacity, together with its successors and assigns in such capacity, the “Securities Agent”), and 
 Transmeridian Exploration Inc., a British Virgin Islands international business company (“TME”), and Bramex Management, Inc. (“Bramex”), a British Virgin Islands
international business company (Bramex, together with TME, the “Shareholders”). 
 RECITALS 
 WHEREAS, the Securities Agent and the Shareholders have entered into the Conditional Share Transfer Agreement dated as of 3 January 2006 (as amended, amended and
restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Conditional Share Transfer Agreement”) providing for the Share Transfer from the Shareholders to the Securities Agent; 
 WHEREAS, to secure the Shareholders’ obligations under the Conditional Share Transfer Agreement, the Securities Agent and the Shareholders have entered into the
Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement dated 3 January 2006 (the “Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement”); 
 WHEREAS, the Securities
Agent and the Shareholders have entered into the Amendment Agreement amending the Conditional Share Transfer Agreement as of the date hereof (the “CSTA Amendment Agreement”); 
 NOW THEREFORE, to comply with the provisions of the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement and in consideration of the foregoing and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the Securities Agent and the Shareholders mutually covenant and agree as follows: 
  

	1	Provisions of the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement 

 Except insofar as otherwise expressly provided in Section 2 hereof, all the definitions, provisions, terms and conditions of the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. The Share Encumbrance
and Pledge Agreement is in all respects ratified and confirmed, and the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement as supplemented and amended by this Amendment Agreement shall be read, taken and considered as one and the same instrument for all
purposes. Upon and after the execution of this Amendment Agreement, each reference in the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement to “this Agreement,” “hereunder,” “hereof” or words of like import referring to the
“Agreement” shall be a reference to the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement as modified hereby. 
  

	2	Amendments to the Securities Agency Agreement 

  

	2.1	The defined term “Secured Obligations” in Section 1 of the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement shall be amended and restated as follows:

 “Secured Obligations means the (i) obligations of the Shareholders to perform the Share Transfer in favour
of the Securities Agent or as otherwise directed by the Securities Agent in 

 
accordance with the Conditional Share Transfer Agreement, evaluated as 290,000,000 US dollars to be performed by 31 December 2010, and (ii) any
other obligations of the Shareholders towards the Securities Agent to properly perform the Conditional Share Transfer Agreement.” 
  

	2.2	Section 2.5 of the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement shall be amended and restated to read as follows: 

 “The Parties agree that the Shares Encumbered and Pledged by the Shareholders to the Securities Agent hereunder shall be evaluated as 290,000,000 US
dollars.” 
  

	3	Effectiveness of Amendment 

  

	3.1	This Amendment Agreement shall become effective, and shall bind the parties hereto, only if the amendments to the Conditional Share Transfer Agreement, as stipulated by the CSTA
Amendment Agreement, shall become effective pursuant to Section 3 of the CSTA Amendment Agreement. 

  

	3.2	Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that the amendments to the Conditional Share Transfer Agreement shall not become effective pursuant to Section 3 of the CSTA
Amendment Agreement, the amendments to the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement shall not become operative and shall not bind the Shareholders or the Securities Agent and this Amendment Agreement shall lapse automatically and be of no further
force or effect. 

  

	4	Registration with the Nominee 

 As soon as this
Amendment Agreement becomes effective pursuant to Section 3 hereof, the Parties undertake to register with the Nominee changes to the terms of the Encumbrance and Pledge of the Shares provided for by this Amendment Agreement. 
  

	5	Governing Law 

 This Amendment Agreement shall be
governed by the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Any disputes arising from or in connection with this Amendment Agreement shall be settled in accordance with the procedure provided for by Article 7(e) of the Share Encumbrance and Pledge Agreement.

  

	6	Counterparts and Facsimiles 

 The Parties agree
that this Amendment Agreement may be signed in counterparts at different times and in different places without the Parties being in each other’s presence, each of which so executed shall be deemed to be an original and such counterparts
together shall be but one and the same instrument. A copy of this Amendment Agreement executed by any Party and transmitted by facsimile shall be binding upon the Parties in the same manner as an original executed and delivered in person.

  

	7	Effect of Headings 

 The Section headings herein
are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof. 
  
  
 [Signature Pages Follow] 

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused this Amendment Agreement to be duly executed and delivered as of the day and
year first above written. 
  

			
	 JSC TURANALEM SECURITIES,
 as the
Securities Agent

		
	By:	 	/s/            
		
		 	Name:
		
		 	Title:

  
  
  
  

			
	 TRANSMERIDIAN EXPLORATION, INC.,
 as a
Shareholder

		
	By:	 	/s/    Earl W. McNiel        
		
		 	Name:    Earl W. McNiel
		
		 	Title:      Duly Authorised Attorney

  
  
  
  

			
	 BRAMEX MANAGEMENT, INC.,
 as a
Shareholder

		
	By:	 	/s/    Earl W. McNiel        
		
		 	Name:    Earl W. McNiel
		
		 	Title:      Duly Authorised AttorneyAmendment Agreement to the Securities Agency Agreement

 Exhibit 10.17 
 Execution copy 
 AMENDMENT AGREEMENT 
 TO THE SECURITIES AGENCY AGREEMENT 
 THIS AMENDMENT AGREEMENT TO THE SECURITIES
AGENCY AGREEMENT (this “Amendment Agreement”) dated as of May 24, 2006 is entered into by and among THE BANK OF NEW YORK, a New York banking corporation, not in its individual capacity but solely as trustee under the Indenture
(as defined herein) (the “Trustee”), JSC TuranAlem Securities, a Kazakhstan joint stock company incorporated under the laws of Kazakhstan, No. 14024-1910-T00, broker-dealer license No. 0401200159, as Securities Agent in
the Republic of Kazakhstan (the “Securities Agent”), and TRANSMERIDIAN EXPLORATION INC. (“TME”), an international business company incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands and BRAMEX MANAGEMENT,
INC. (“Bramex”), an international business company incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands (Bramex, together with TME, the “Issuer”). 
 RECITALS 
 WHEREAS, the Trustee, the Issuer and certain guarantors have entered
into an Indenture dated as of December 12, 2005 (as amended, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Indenture”) pursuant to which TME issued on December 12, 2005, its Senior
Secured Notes due 2010 in the aggregate principal amount of $250,000,000 (the “Initial Notes”); 
 WHEREAS, to provide for
the mechanism of securing the obligations of the Issuer under the Notes and the Indenture, the Trustee, the Securities Agent and the Issuer have entered into the Securities Agency Agreement dated as of January 3, 2006 (as amended, amended and
restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Securities Agency Agreement”); 
 WHEREAS, the Trustee,
the Issuer and certain guarantors have entered into the Second Supplemental Indenture as of the date hereof (the “Second Supplemental Indenture”), to amend and supplement the Indenture to provide for the issuance of an additional
aggregate principal amount of $40,000,000 of the Issuer’s Senior Secured Notes due 2010 (the “Additional Notes”, and together with the Initial Notes, the “Notes”); 
 WHEREAS, Section 9(e) of the Securities Agency Agreement authorizes the Trustee, the Securities Agent and the Issuer to amend or supplement
the Securities Agency Agreement; 
 NOW THEREFORE, to comply with the provisions of the Securities Agency Agreement and in consideration of
the foregoing and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the Securities Agent and the Issuer mutually covenant and agree with the Trustee as follows: 
 SECTION 1 
 PROVISIONS OF THE
SECURITIES AGENCY AGREEMENT 
 Except insofar as otherwise expressly provided in Section 2 hereof, all the definitions,
provisions, terms and conditions of the Securities Agency Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. The Securities Agency Agreement is in all respects ratified and confirmed, 

 
and the Securities Agency Agreement as supplemented and amended by this Amendment Agreement shall be read, taken and considered as one and the same
instrument for all purposes. Upon and after the execution of this Amendment Agreement, each reference in the Securities Agency Agreement to “this Agreement,” “hereunder,” “hereof” or words of like import referring to
the “Agreement” shall be a reference to the Securities Agency Agreement as modified hereby. 
 SECTION 2 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE SECURITIES AGENCY AGREEMENT 
 The first paragraph of the recitals to the Securities Agency Agreement shall be amended and restated to read as follows: 
 “The Trustee, the Issuer and certain guarantors have entered into an Indenture dated as of December 12, 2005 (as amended, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the
“Indenture”) pursuant to which the Issuer issued on December 12, 2005 its Senior Secured Notes due 2010 in the aggregate principal amount of $250,000,000 and will issue an additional aggregate principal amount of $40,000,000 of
the Issuer’s Senior Secured Notes due 2010 on or before June 9, 2006 (collectively, the “Notes”);” 
 SECTION 3 
 EFFECTIVENESS OF AMENDMENT 
 3.1 This Amendment Agreement shall become effective, and shall bind the parties hereto, upon: 
 3.1.1 its
execution by the Issuer, the Securities Agent and the Trustee, and 
 3.1.2 delivery by TME to the Trustee of written notice that the
issuance and sale of Additional Notes (the “Offering”) has been consummated on or before June 9, 2006. 
 3.2
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that the Offering is not consummated by TME on or before June 9, 2006, the amendments to the Securities Agency Agreement contained in Section 2 hereof shall not become operative and shall not
bind the Issuer, the Securities Agent or the Trustee and this Amendment Agreement shall lapse automatically and be of no further force or effect. 
 SECTION 4 
 GOVERNING LAW 
 This Amendment Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of New York (without reference to conflict of laws). The parties agree that any suit for the enforcement of this
Amendment Agreement may be brought in the courts of the State of New York or any federal court sitting in the Borough of Manhattan in New York, New York and consent to the nonexclusive jurisdiction of such court. 
  

 2 

 SECTION 5 
 COUNTERPART ORIGINALS 
 This Amendment Agreement may be signed in two or more counterparts, each of
which shall be deemed an original, but all of which shall together constitute one and the same agreement. 
 SECTION 6 
 EFFECT OF HEADINGS 
 The Section
headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof. 
 SECTION 7 
 DISPUTE RESOLUTION 
 7.1 The Parties
shall make attempts to settle disputes hereunder amicably through good faith negotiations within thirty (30) days from the moment of submission of a written notice about such dispute by one Party to the other Party. If such negotiations are not
successful a dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Amendment Agreement, or the breach, termination or invalidity hereof, shall be settled by arbitration. 
 7.2 Each of the Parties hereby irrevocably agrees that, if any dispute, claim or disagreement arises from or in connection with this Amendment Agreement
(or any supplement, modification or addition thereto, including as to the terms or conditions of the execution, breach, termination or invalidity hereof or thereof) (together, Disputes) and the negotiations referred to in Clause 7.1 are not
successful, such Dispute shall be submitted to arbitration. Disputes submitted to arbitration shall be conducted in English and be resolved by arbitration in London by the Arbitration Court of the International Chamber of Commerce (the Arbitration
Court) in accordance with the rules of the Arbitration Court, which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Clause. The tribunal shall consist of three arbitrators, one appointed by each of the Parties with the third being agreed
between the first two arbitrators but, in the absence of agreement between them, shall be appointed by the Arbitration Court. All decisions of the Arbitration Court shall be binding on the Parties and the Dispute shall be considered finally settled
under the rule of the Arbitration Court by the said arbitrators. 
  
 [Signature Pages Follow] 

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment Agreement to be duly executed and
delivered as of the day and year first above written. 
  

			
	 THE BANK OF NEW YORK,
 Not in its individual
capacity but solely as Trustee under the Indenture

		
	By:	 	/s/    Luis Perez        
		
		 	Name:    Luis Perez
		
		 	Title:      Assistant Vice President

  
  
  
  

			
	TURANALEM SECURITIES JSC, as Securities Agent
		
	By:	 	/s/            
		
		 	Name:
		
		 	Title:

  
  
  
  

			
	 TRANSMERIDIAN EXPLORATION, INC.
 as
Issuer

		
	By:	 	/s/    Earl W. McNiel        
		
		 	Name:    Earl W. McNiel
		
		 	Title:      Duly Authorised Attorney

  
  
  
  

			
	 BRAMEX MANAGEMENT, INC
 as
Issuer

		
	By:	 	/s/    Earl W. McNiel        
		
		 	Name:    Earl W. McNiel
		
		 	Title:      Duly Authorised Attorney

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