SOCAR–Dunga cooperation talks enter active phase, Kazakh minister says

Talks on cooperation between SOCAR and Kazakhstan’s Dunga oil field are currently in an active phase, Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said.

He noted that the strategic importance of the field demonstrates that energy cooperation between the two countries is entering a new stage, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

“The Dunga field is geologically and technically very favourable. The oil composition is excellent — light, low in sulfur, and extremely suitable for refining. Such an advantage is very rare,” the minister emphasised.

Akkenzhenov added that concrete commercial negotiations on the field’s development are ongoing between KazMunayGas and SOCAR.

He noted that the agreement was purely commercial and emphasised the Ministry of Energy, as the body responsible for implementing state policy, did not intervene in such negotiations, adding that the details of cooperation were being coordinated exclusively between KazMunayGas and SOCAR.

The Dunga field, located in Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region, holds an estimated 106 million tons of oil and 6 billion cubic meters of gas. It has been operated under a production-sharing agreement signed in 1994.

In 2023, KazMunayGas acquired a 60% stake in the field, while Oman Oil and Partex Kazakhstan each hold 20%.

SOCAR’s participation in the project could further deepen energy cooperation between the South Caucasus and Central Asia regions.

By Jeyhun Aghazada