Uzbekistan plans to join Shah Deniz project in Caspian Sea Uzbekistan's national oil and gas company, Uzbekneftegaz, plans to participate in the project to develop the Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, Uzbek Investment, Industry and Trade Minister Laziz Kudratov told reporters on Tuesday."Uzbekneftegaz and SOCAR [State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic] could sign an agreement in the coming months for the Uzbek company to join the Shah Deniz project," Kudratov said in Quba, Azerbaijan."We are now talking to SOCAR regarding its participation in upstream oil and gas projects in Uzbekistan. Similarly, the issue of Uzbekneftegaz joining upstream gas enterprises in Azerbaijan is being discussed and is at the final stage," he said.Kudratov also said the size of the stake in the project was still being discussed and was a subject of negotiations. "We hope that this will happen soon," he said, when asked when the agreement might be signed.He also said preparations were under way for a state visit by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Uzbekistan. "Of course, we want this visit to be full of specific content. We will count on [an agreement will be signed during the visit]," he said.Kudratov said the project is complex and required legal appraisal, and that foreign consultants were involved in this. "But we are upbeat about the prospects," he said.The contract for the development of the Shah Deniz field was signed in Baku in 1996. Equity participation in the contract is currently as follows: BP (SPB: BP), operator, with 29.99%; Lukoil (MOEX: LKOH) - 19.99%; TPAO - 19%; Cenub Qaz Dehlizi - 21.02%; and NICO - 10%.Gas production from the Shah Deniz field began in December 2006. Gas is currently produced at the Shah Deniz field at the Alpha platform in Stage 1 and at the Bravo platform in Stage 2.Shah Deniz is Azerbaijan's biggest gas field.Azerbaijan currently has contract to supply has from Shah Deniz with Georgia, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Serbia.Uzbekneftegaz is a vertically integrated company that brings together more than 50 specialized organizations, namely 13 joint ventures, 10 hydrocarbon production and processing units, and a number of coordinated non-production and scientific and technical units. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: Interfax