The government plans to sign a production sharing agreement (PSA) with the Azerbaijani SOCAR, the Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov told the Uzbekistan 24 TV channel following a government meeting with the president on Monday.
On Monday, the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev familiarized himself with a presentation on the implementation of joint projects with overseas oil and gas companies.
In particular, a deal was reached with the Azerbaijani SOCAR on exploration and production of oil in the fields of the Ustyurt area, with joint geological exploration scheduled.
The minister stressed that the preparation of the relevant documents was entering the final stage, with the signing of a PSA with SOCAR scheduled for the end of this week.
According to him, the president gave directives to expedite the implementation of the agreements, develop a phased action plan for the rest of 2025 and further years, and lift bureaucratic barriers in interactions with foreign companies.
The chief of Uzbekneftegaz, Bakhodir Sidikov added that the draft production sharing agreement had already been developed, the common terms have been agreed upon with SOCAR and were presented to the president. “This agreement will undoubtedly be an important step, opening up great opportunities and prospects for us in the future,” he stressed.
In May 2018, Uzbekneftegaz, SOCAR and BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) signed a memorandum — the companies were invited to review a joint geological study of the Aral-Sea, Sam-Kosbulak and Baiterek investment blocks of the Ustyurt area.
In 2021, BP withdrew from the development of oil and gas fields in Ustyurt. In an interview with Interfax-Azerbaijan, the former chief of Uztransgaz, Bekhzod Normatov, said that the reason for the British company's withdrawal from the project was a sharp change in its strategy. BP chose the "green" path and refused new investments in hydrocarbons.
"We were already approaching the signing of the Production Sharing and Geological Exploration Agreement," Normatov said. "SOCAR [the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan] was going to join the project with a share of up to 25%, but the main investor, of course, was BP. After the British company changed its policy, the project stopped, now we are considering the possibility of engaging other companies to this project." In August 2024, Uzbekneftegaz and SOCAR signed an oil and gas sector cooperation agreement.
