BP has bought 40% in the production sharing agreement regulating oil and gas exploration and production rights for six blocks in Uzbekistan, setting foot in the Central Asian country as it continues to seek profitable opportunities to boost its oil and gas business.
BP has acquired a total 40% participating interest in the production sharing agreement (PSA) – 20% from each of the existing partners, Azerbaijan’s state energy firm SOCAR and Uzbekistan’s national firm Uzbekneftegaz, the UK supermajor said on Wednesday.
After BP’s entry, the participating interests in the PSA are reshuffled as follows: BP holds 40%, Uzbekneftegaz owns 30%, and SOCAR has 30% and remains the operator.
SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz last year started advancing a $2-billion energy project in the six blocks in the North Ustyurt region of?the Republic of?Uzbekistan.
The agreement, which now includes BP, is for the Boyterak, Terengquduq, Birqori, Kharoy, Qoraqalpoq, and Qulboy blocks.
“We believe Uzbekistan has significant resource potential and see this as an opportunity to support the exploration and development of the country’s oil and gas resources, delivering long?term benefits to the region,” Gio Cristofoli, bp regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, said in a statement today.
BP’s new chief executive officer Meg O’Neill is pushing for an even faster return to the supermajor’s core oil and gas business after a few tumultuous years for the company in the first half of this decade.
Under Bernard Looney, BP pledged in 2020 to boost renewables and reduce oil and gas production. Looney’s abrupt exit and his replacement with Murray Auchincloss made investors anxious about the direction of the company, especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis that followed highlighted the continued need for oil and gas.
Last year, BP under Auchincloss yielded to investor pressure and announced a major strategy reset to slash investments in renewables and focus on its core business of producing oil and gas.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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