Uzbekneftegaz may join the Shah Deniz gas condensate project on the Azerbaijani shelf of the Caspian Sea, the Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Qudratov said on the sidelines of the II Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan Inter-Provinces Forum in Guba.
“We have called on SOCAR and are holding talks about its participation in oil and gas projects in Uzbekistan. Similarly, the Uzbekneftegaz’s joining of gas production projects in Azerbaijan is now being discussed and is at the final stage. Yes, we mean the Azerbaijan’ Shah Deniz project. Share participation is a subject of negotiations,” he explained.
Laziz Qudratov voiced hope that the signing of documents on Uzbekneftegaz’s joining the Shah Deniz will take place in the coming months.
“Our participation in this project requires serious financial and legal studies with the participation of a foreign consultant. We are serious about these prospects,” the minister noted.
In August, Uzbekneftegaz and SOCAR agreed to implement joint oil and gas projects in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. As reported earlier, Uzbekneftegaz, together with SOCAR, vowed to begin developing three hydrocarbon fields in Azerbaijan in 2024.
The Shah Deniz project has been launched back in 1996. In 2013, the agreement on the development of the Shah Deniz field was extended until 2046.
Currently, the project participants are the British BP (production operator - 29.99%), Russian Lukoil (19.99%), Turkish Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı (TPAO, 19%), Russian NIKO (10%) and SGC Upstream (representing the interests of Azerbaijan, 21.02%).
Shah Deniz reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas, so far about 20% of this resource has been extracted.
Gas from Shah Deniz is supplied to Georgia, Turkiye and Europe via the South Caucasus Pipeline.
In October 2019, it was reported that Uzbekneftegaz and SOCAR sought to jointly produce oil in the Azerbaijani part of the Caspian Sea.
