Uzbekistan prepares 128 oil, gas blocks to offer to foreign investors

TASHKENT. Oct 16 (Interfax) - Uzbekistan has prepared 128 oil and gas blocks in various regions of the country to offer to foreign investors, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at an open dialogue with investors on Friday.

"Cooperation is expanding in the areas of geological exploration, increasing the efficiency of existing fields, and the deep processing of raw materials within the oil and gas sector. Currently, exploration work is underway on six investment blocks in the Ustyurt region, involving Azerbaijan's SOCAR [State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic] and the British company BP. An additional 128 blocks in other regions have been prepared for offer to foreign partners," Mirziyoyev was quoted as saying by the press service for JSC Uzbekneftegaz.

Preliminary estimates said that the projected resources for these 128 blocks stand at 5.8 trillion cubic meters of gas and 560 million tonnes of liquid hydrocarbons.

The president said that the core criteria for realizing these opportunities will be "competition, transparency, and economic efficiency."