Mubadala signs agreements with Uzbekistan on energy investment

$10bn worth of partnership agreements signed during a state visit by the Uzbek president to Abu Dhabi

Aerial view of Uzbekistan's capital city, Tashkent. The country is considering allowing a foreign operator to take over its struggling state-owned airline. Image courtesy of flydubai

Mubadala Investment Company signed investment and partnership agreements with Uzbekistan on co-operation in power, renewables and oil and gas.

The strategic investment firm signed the agreement with government entities responsible for power generation, transmission and distribution as well as the the country’s trade ministry, the Abu Dhabi company said on Tuesday.

Uzbekistan, which borders large oil and gas producers Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, has hydrocarbon reserves but is not a massive operator in the sector. The agreements with Mubadala follow the visit of Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Abu Dhabi, which included the signing of about $10 billion worth of investment agreements across sectors including energy, industry, infrastructure, development and agriculture.

Mubadala will look to identify opportunities for investment in conventional power generation with Uzbekenergo, a state-owned entity that oversees the full gamut of utilities in the Central Asian country. The projects will be executed on the basis of the independent power producer model.

Mubadala Petroleum, a subsidiary of the strategic investment firm, will look to explore partnership and investment opportunities to boost production across certain oil and gas fields, it said.

Last year, state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company signed an agreement with an Uzbek company to provide strategic advice on upstream and downstream operations.

Adnoc said last year that it would look to support state-owned Uzbekneftegaz’s growth plans even as it looked to "maximise the value of the country’s oil and gas resources".

Partnerships were also signed between Abu Dhabi’s Masdar and Uzbekenergo to pursue renewable energy projects.