SOCAR and BP may sign a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) on investment blocks in Uzbekistan, the press service of the Uzbek Ministry of Energy reports.
The head of the department, Alisher Sultanov, on Tuesday held a meeting with British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Timothy Achilles, with whom he discussed the implementation of investment projects in the oil and gas industry with the participation of British companies and organizations.
“At present, Uzbek specialists, together with BP and SOCAR, are exploring the possibilities of conducting geological exploration at the investment blocks Aralamor, Sam-Kosbulak and Baiterek. In February, SOCAR and BP specialists are scheduled to arrive in Uzbekistan to discuss the basic conditions of the PSA for these blocks,” the report said.
According to the agency, the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan expects the British company to accelerate the technical assessment of the joint project to achieve the effectiveness of the upcoming meeting.
“Representatives of the British Embassy emphasized the growing interest on the part of British investors in promising projects implemented in Uzbekistan,” the information said.
The Ministry of Energy recalls that in May 2018, BP Exploration, SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz signed a Memorandum of Understanding and in May 2019 – a Joint Research Agreement to assess the exploration potential of the three investment blocks in the Ustyurt region. “Over the past time, a number of working meetings took place with the participation of specialists from the Ministry of Energy, Uzbekneftegaz, BP and SOCAR, and a number of stage agreements have been reached,” the report says.
The agreement on research work at three investment blocks in Uzbekistan provides for exploration in the Uzbek part of the Aral Sea, Sam-Kosbulak and Baiterek investment blocks in the Ustyurt region.