RusEnergy

MOSCOW, March 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's major private crude producer LUKoil has closed a deal to buy $580 million worth of oil and gas assets in Uzbekistan, the company said on Friday. "LUKoil Overseas [LUKoil's overseas oil and gas production arm] has closed a deal with the oil company SoyuzNefteGaz to acquire a 100% stake in SNG Holdings Ltd., including SoyuzNefteGaz Vostok Ltd., which is a party to a production sharing agreement for the fields in Southwest Gissar and Ustyurt Region in the Republic of Uzbekistan," the company said in a press release. The deal gives LUKoil access to seven fields in Uzbekistan, with estimated reserves of 100 billion cubic meters. The production sharing agreement was signed on January 23, 2007 for 36 years and came into effect on April 23, 2007. An estimated $700 million will be invested in the project. The company said $70 million has been invested so far. The company said hydrocarbons from Southwest Gissar fields will be processed at the Shurtan Gas and Chemical Unit while the dry gas produced there will be shipped via Gazprom transportation networks: Central Asia-Center and Bukhara-Urals. Crude will be shipped to the Bukhara and Fergana refineries via the Shurtan terminal. Oil and gas derivatives (gasoline, diesel fuel, industrial oils, fuel oil, liquefied natural gas, kerosene, etc.,) will be marketed by the CIS Vostok Marketing Limited.