SOCAR, the state oil company of Azerbaijan, may join the Dunga oil and gas project in Kazakhstan, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov told Interfax-Kazakhstan. Akkenzhenov said commercial negotiations are underway with KazMunayGas (KMG), Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company, which holds a 60% stake in the project.
The Dunga oil and gas field is located in the Tupkaragan district of the Mangystau region. Its geological reserves are estimated at 106 million tons of oil and more than 6 billion cubic meters of gas.
The project is being developed under a production sharing agreement signed on May 1, 1994, between Oman Oil Co. Ltd. and the government of Kazakhstan. Current project participants include Dunga Operating GmbH (60%, KMG), Oman Oil Co. Ltd. (20%, Oman) and PTTEP Corp. (20%, Kazakhstan).
Notably, SOCAR’s potential participation in the Dunga project could increase exports of Kazakh oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey) pipeline, boosting the pipeline’s throughput as Azerbaijan’s own oil production gradually declines.
