The fourth meeting of the Turkmen-Azerbaijani Working Group within the framework of the Government-to-Government Memorandum on joint exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources at the Dostluk field in the Caspian Sea took place today.
The meeting was held in an online format under the co-chairmanship of the State Minister of Turkmenistan Chairman of the State Concern "Turkmengaz" Batyr Amanov and the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Pyarviz Shahbazov, according to the website of the Azerbaijani Ministry.
During the meeting, the parties noted the progress in the negotiation process on this project and the importance of its implementation for two countries.
"Following the meeting, it was decided to hold the next meeting of the Joint Expert Group established within the framework of the Working Group in the near future," the information says.
To recap, on January 21, 2021, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on joint exploration, development and production of the Dostluk hydrocarbon field in the Caspian Sea.
In February 2021, the Azerbaijani Parliament approved the Memorandum, and in March last year, the Mejlis (the Lower House of the National Council) of Turkmenistan ratified the document.
According to experts, Dostluk's reserves are estimated at 50 million tons of oil. For many years, the deposit was considered borderline and was called "Serdar" from the Turkmen side, and "Kyapaz" from the Azerbaijani side.
Earlier, it was reported that a Government-to-Government Agreement is under preparation between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, according to which the hydrocarbon resources of the Dostluk field will be distributed between the parties in the ratio of 30% (Azerbaijan) and 70% (Turkmenistan).
The head of the Russian oil company Lukoil Vagit Alekperov has repeatedly stated the company's intention to participate in the project and even discussed it with President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.