Total Farms Into Disputed Caspian Block

摘要

French major Total is poised to expand in the Caspian Sea by acquiring a stake in a block offshore Turkmenistan owned by Canadian independent Buried Hill Energy. It will not be all plain sailing, however, as the block, which includes the 500 million barrel-plus Serdar oil field, is also claimed by Azerbaijan. Sources close to the matter say the two companies struck a farm-in deal several months ago, but are still wait- ing for approval from Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, who has the final say on all energy-re- lated issues in the Central Asian republic (NC Feb.10,p1) One source speculated that a deal could be concluded when the Azeri president, Ilham Aliyev, visits Ashkhabad later this year.