Baku, Azerbaijan, May 16
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Negotiations on the commercial component of the exploration project in the Uzbek section of the Aral Sea are possible during 2019, Deputy Head of Public Relations Department at Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR Ibrahim Ahmadov told Trend.
He was elaborating on the agreement signed on May 16 by BP, SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz to conduct exploration on investment blocks in the Aral Sea.
“The document envisages assessment of the potential of Uzbekistan’s Ustyurt region in terms of exploration. At this stage, the study and analysis of available materials will be carried out. The possibility of getting and analyzing additional data is not ruled out. During the year, negotiations between the parties will probably begin on the commercial component of the project, which will make it possible to identify the prospects of potential exploration,” he said.
Moreover, BP Azerbaijan told Trend that SOCAR, BP and Uzbekneftegaz signed a Joint Studies Agreement (JSA) on May 16 to jointly conduct technical studies on exploration and development opportunities in the Ustyurt region of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
“This follows on from the studies under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the same Parties in May 2018. This is aligned with the objectives of the government of Azerbaijan and the government of Uzbekistan to work jointly to explore oil and gas opportunities in Uzbekistan as part of their plans for economic cooperation,” said BP.
“The JSA was signed in Tashkent on the sidelines of the Uzbekistan Oil and Gas Conference by Bahram Huseynov, SOCAR’s Vice President, Geology and Geophysics, Greg Riley, BP’s Vice President, Caspian Exploration, and U. K. Sayidov, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Uzbekneftigaz.”
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