A joint project between SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz for geological exploration in the Ustyurt region has been launched in Uzbekistan. This was reported by the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan.
The project was presented at a ceremony in Tashkent dedicated to the launch of new energy initiatives, which was held with the participation of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The event was held in the format of a teleconference, during which projects implemented by Uzbekistan jointly with Azerbaijan, Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and China were demonstrated.
Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov, speaking at the ceremony, noted that the political will of the leaders of the two countries gave bilateral relations the level of strategic alliance. He emphasized that personal trust between the heads of state played a key role in strengthening cooperation.
Shahbazov added that Azerbaijan’s accession to the format of the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia as a full participant, as well as the process of opening the Zangezur corridor, which enhances the importance of the Middle Corridor, opens a new page in relations between Baku and Tashkent.
According to the minister, energy partnership occupies a special place in the current regional realities. He emphasized that the launch of joint geological exploration work by SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz in the Ustyurt region confirms the strategic importance of cooperation, promotes technology exchange, strengthens regional energy integration and creates new opportunities in the field of energy supply.
Shahbazov also noted the importance of the Trans-Caspian Energy Corridor project, which for the first time will unite the energy systems of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and in the future will become platform for the transfer of renewable energy along the Middle Corridor between Asia and Europe.
As the ministry recalled, on July 24, 2025, SOCAR, Uzbekneftegaz and the government of Uzbekistan signed a Production Sharing Agreement for exploration, development and production in a number of investment blocks of the country.