Total Inks Uzbek Exploration Accord
Uzbekistan’s state-run producer said October 9 it has signed an exploration agreement with Total
It was announced during a French-Uzbek business forum in Paris but signed on October 7 by Total upstream chief Arnaud Breuillac and Uzbekneftegaz CEO Bakhrom Ashrafkhanov and provides for evaluation of joint exploration in certain Uzbek blocks, the creation of a joint working group and - based on the results of the study – could lead to concrete proposals for further cooperation.
During the business forum, the Uzbekistan government said October 8 that Uzbek firms signed investment agreements with French firms for projects totaling about €5bn ($5.75bn), but gave few details except that Total Eren and Uzbekenergo agreed to jointly build a solar PV plant of unspecified size near Samarkand.
Uzbekistan hopes to attract $30.4bn to its oil and gas projects between 2016 and 2020 according to its five-year plan, Uzbekneftegaz said last year. So far Russian firms Lukoil and Gazprom have been foremost foreign investors, in Lukoil’s case leading to a year on year doubling of production at its Uzbek projects at Kandym and Gissar to 6.1bn m3 in 1H2018.
Separately, at the first Uzbek–UK Energy Forum in London, state-run UK Export Finance (UKEF) signed April 18 a memorandum with the Uzbekistan fund for reconstruction and development (UFRD) to commit £1.25bn ($1.8bn) towards financing energy projects in Uzbekistan.