BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 2
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
Uzbekistan will contribute to the restoration of the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, Deputy Energy Minister of Uzbekistan Bekhzot Narmatov told Trend.
Narmatov revealed that there are energy projects in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan plans to get involved with them.
“Yes, we will participate in the restoration of these territories, we already have an agreement with Azerbaijan," said Narmatov. "We work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. I think we will be able to decide where and how we can implement projects. Uzbekistan will contribute to the restoration of the liberated lands”.
Further speaking, he said that the main partner of Uzbekistan in Azerbaijan is SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan).
“There are other Azerbaijani companies that operate in Uzbekistan. These are divisions of the Research Institute for Oil and Gas Processing in Azerbaijan, which are engaged in the production of while small volumes, but there are studies to increase oil and gas production at some fields,” the deputy minister said.
Also, he noted that the main direction of cooperation between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan in the energy sector is geological exploration.
“We have an agreement that has not yet implemented due to the third partner - bp. We had a very large project, and with the help of SOCAR and bp specialists, we identified a deep oil field in the Ustyurt plateau (Uzbekistan). But at the last moment, due to COVID-19, changes in the policies of companies, a decrease in investment in the field of hydrocarbon production and a change in the course towards "green" energy, bp withdrew from this project. But SOCAR still remains in the project, and I think that soon, after the situation with the pandemic improves, we will find a third partner and through joint efforts of Uzbekneftegaz, SOCAR and a third company we will work in this field,” Narmatov said.
Regarding cooperation with Azerbaijan in the field of renewable energy sources, Narmatov said that Uzbekistan is open to partners, adding that a huge number of projects in the field of renewable energy are being implemented in the country.
“If Azerbaijani companies show interest, they can always participate in the complexes that are being implemented in Uzbekistan in cooperation with international financial institutions. We are also ready to attract Azerbaijani companies to implement joint projects,” he said.
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