British energy giant BP has expressed optimism about discovering significant oil and gas reserves in the northeastern part of the Ustyurt Plateau. Michael Fidler, BP's Director of Business Development, made the announcement in an interview with Uzbekistan 24 TV channel on the sidelines of the Tashkent International Investment Forum.
According to Fidler, BP is working closely with Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR, which serves as the project operator, as well as with Uzbekneftegaz. "I sincerely hope we find a lot of oil and gas here. At the suggestion of Mr. President, we are cooperating closely with SOCAR. They are the operator. We are leading the geological exploration work in the northeastern part of the Ustyurt Plateau. We are also working very closely with Uzbekneftegaz," he said.
Fidler noted that BP is a new entrant in Uzbekistan but has extensive experience in the region. "In Azerbaijan, we have been working with SOCAR for 30 years and have developed two of the world's largest fields — one oil and one gas. They are truly among the largest fields in the world," the BP representative stated.
He added that the company is just beginning to invest in Uzbekistan and is not yet disclosing commercial details. "However, we are investing significant funds, and it all starts with seismic studies. Together with operator SOCAR, we have conducted seismic imaging over an area of 3,000 square kilometers. This is the initial investment. After that, we will study whether there is oil and gas there. Then drilling will begin. Drilling will require even larger funds. We hope to find oil and gas. Then we will talk about big money," he said.
On June 15, a meeting was reported between Uzbekneftegaz Chairman Abdugani Sanginov and BP's Michael Fidler. The parties discussed the current status and prospects of joint projects in the Ustyurt region under a production sharing agreement. Special attention was paid to the progress of geological exploration, acceleration of geophysical data interpretation, and the start of drilling by the end of 2026.
On July 24, 2025, a production sharing agreement was signed between the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan, SOCAR, and Uzbekneftegaz. The document provides for geological exploration and subsequent hydrocarbon production in the Ustyurt oil and gas region. According to the document, exploration and appraisal work, as well as drilling of at least one exploration well, are to be completed within five years. During this period, SOCAR acts as the operator.
The agreement covers the Boyterak, Terenguduk, Birkori, Kharoy, Karakalpak, and Kulboy blocks located in the Ustyurt area of Karakalpakstan. The project is implemented in cooperation with Uzbekneftegaz and SOCAR. BP acquired a 40% participating interest in the PSA, obtaining 20% from each of the existing partners SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz. After BP's entry, the shares were distributed as follows: BP — 40%, Uzbekneftegaz — 30%, and SOCAR, retaining operator status, — 30%.
After the discovery of fields on the Ustyurt, they will remain the property of Uzbekistan, and only the extracted products will be distributed under the agreement, said Nodir Muhiddinov, Chief Geologist of Uzbekneftegaz. According to him, the country's economic interests are "well protected" in the agreement. According to Uzbekistan 24 TV channel, the project is expected to identify reserves of 100 million tons of oil and 35 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Experts suggest that this could be "a major discovery with enormous oil reserves."
A production sharing agreement is a contract that grants a foreign investor the right to extract minerals, under which a portion of the extracted product remains with the investor, and the rest goes to the state. The PSA determines the share of extracted oil or gas each party receives after cost recovery during industrial-scale operations.
Source: www.gazeta.uz