BP has taken a first step to enter Uzbekistan’s oil and gas market with the acquisition of a 40% interest in a production-sharing agreement (PSA) for six onshore exploration blocks in Uzbekistan’s remote North Ustyurt plateau.
The farm-in secured a 40% participating interest (20% each) from the project’s existing partners, reducing Azerbaijan’s state-owned SOCAR’s stake to a 30% operator interest and leaving Uzbekistan’s national oil company Uzbekneftegaz with the remaining 30%.
SOCAR originally signed the PSA with Uzbekneftegaz and Uzbekistan’s oil ministry on 24 July 2025 and, as operator, began Phase 1 seismic and appraisal work across the Boyterak, Terengquduq, Birqori, Kharoy, Qoraqalpoq, and Qulboy blocks, according to a BP press release.
The BP agreement with the partnership was announced on 13 May, after the deal was signed on the sidelines of an international oil and gas conference in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent.
Something in It for Everyone
“We are pleased to be entering our first project in Uzbekistan, alongside Uzbekneftegaz and our long‑standing partner SOCAR,” Gio Cristofoli, BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey said in the release.
“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.”
BP’s entry into the PSA demonstrates the company’s pursuit of long-term organic growth by growing its exploration portfolio, Cristofoli added.
Uzbekistan Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamahmudov praised the farm-in as “not merely a commercial agreement, but a direct testament to international investors’ confidence in the reforms being carried out in Uzbekistan and in our strategic course toward the development of the energy sector.”
BP’s 30-Year Presence in Azerbaijan
“The involvement of BP, which has maintained close and efficient partnership relations with SOCAR for many years, will create broad opportunities to ensure effective joint operations within the project,” SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf said, referring to BP’s role as the lead foreign operator on Azerbaijan’s flagship offshore fields and the architect of its export pipeline network over more than 30 years.
Abdugani Sanginov, chairman of the Management Board of Uzbekneftegaz, said, “The involvement of a global player such as BP in the exploration of the North Ustyurt blocks confirms the high investment attractiveness of Uzbekistan’s energy sector. We are confident that combining our experience with the advanced technologies and expertise of BP and SOCAR will enable us to unlock the region’s resource potential with maximum efficiency.”
In April, Uzbekistan received a $10.6 million World Bank grant to upgrade its gas transmission system to reduce leakage from infrastructure that supplies about 80% of the country’s energy needs.