China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the parent of listed PetroChina, has signed an agreement to invest in an oil production project in Uzbekistan, expanding the mainland's energy operations in Central Asia.
CNPC will form a joint venture with state-owned Uzbekneftegaz for the development of the Mingbulak oilfield in eastern Uzbekistan.
Both CNPC's and PetroChina's spokesmen were unable to provide further details, although they confirmed that PetroChina would be the joint venture's operating entity. Discovered in 1992, the Mingbulak field is estimated to have more than 30 million tonnes of recoverable reserves and 2 million tonnes of potential annual production.
CNPC produced 137.63 million tonnes of oil last year, of which 29.98 million tonnes came from abroad.
'The [joint venture] will help Uzbekistan resolve its domestic oil demand problem, facilitate PetroChina's gas production and pipeline projects in Central Asia and enhance China's energy security,' CNPC said. The project will also help showcase and elevate CNPC's oil drilling capabilities and help expand its engineering units' international sales, it said.
PetroChina is building a 10,000km gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to eastern and southern China through Uzbekistan and has co-invested in a gas field in Turkmenistan supplying the pipeline.