Lukoil hopes to discover new hydrocarbon reserves in Uzbekistan, the company has signed an agreement to explore the territory in the north-west of the country. The head of the company Vagit Alekperov reported this during a speech at the CERAWeek oil and gas conference in Houston on Monday.

“During the last visit (of its representatives to Uzbekistan), the company signed an agreement to explore the colossal territory in the Karakalpak Republic, north-west of Uzbekistan. We hope that we will be able to make discoveries in this territory so that we will have the opportunity to accelerate dynamics of work in the future,” TASS quotes Alekperov as saying.

In 2018, Lukoil produced 33.5 billion cubic meters of gas, which is 16% more compared to the previous year. The company noted that the main factor of production growth is the development of projects in Uzbekistan.

“The main factor in the growth of gas production was the development of projects in Uzbekistan. Thanks to the launch of new gas facilities, Kandym and Gissar projects in 2018 increased to 13.4 billion cubic meters (in the share of the Lukoil Group), which is 67% more than in 2017,” the company said.

Lukoil operates in Uzbekistan on the basis of production sharing agreements (PSAs) under the Kandym-Khauzak-Shady and South-West Gissar projects. The project operator is Lukoil Uzbekistan Operating Company LLC, which is headquartered in Tashkent.