Solward provides specialised counsel to international mining companies, technology providers, and exploration firms navigating the evolving subsoil sector in Uzbekistan and Central Asia. From oil, gas, and coal to precious metals, we guide clients through the full value chain – upstream, midstream, and downstream – in a market shifting toward transparency.
With the new edition of the law “On Subsoil”, the rules for subsoil use have changed. Our team helps clients secure rights via electronic auctions, or direct negotiations, manage compliance, and negotiate bankable agreements. Leveraging our deep local expertise and alliance with Unicase, we structure complex projects – including Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), Joint Venture Agreements (JVAs) and technology transfer arrangements – and advise on processing infrastructure and cross-border supply.
Our core expertise includes:
Acquisition of Rights and Licensing: Support in auctions, direct negotiations, and navigating licensing/permitting regimes for exploration and extraction, support for transactions involving the transfer of such rights and permits
Contractual Structuring (Upstream): Drafting and negotiating PSAs, JVAs, farm-in arrangements, and technology licensing agreements
Investment Protection and Fiscal Stability: Negotiating Investment Agreements with the Government to secure tax incentives and stability guarantees
Regulatory and Environmental Compliance: Advising on land allocation, environmental impact assessment requirements, local content rules, and management of mining waste
Our experience includes advising:
a Chinese mining company in negotiations with the Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the terms and conditions of a project for the exploration of prospective copper areas in Uzbekistan
ERIELL Group on a number of projects, including:
the comprehensive infrastructure development for the Adamtash, Gumbubalak, and Djarkuduk-Yangi Kizilcha gas condensate fields (South-West Gissar Project)
the Early Gas project at the Kandym group of fields and the development of the northern part of the Shady section (I launch complex)
the construction of a gas processing plant and a central production facility at the Kandym group of fields
a foreign investment company on the drafting, negotiation, and execution of a shareholders’ agreement governing the framework of a joint venture established for gold and copper mining activities in Uzbekistan
a leading international gold and copper mining company on the drafting, negotiation, and execution of a shareholders’ agreement governing the framework of a joint venture established for gold and copper mining activities in Uzbekistan
a major Japanese conglomerate in connection with its acquisition of a minority equity stake in a uranium mining joint venture between a foreign investor and a national state-owned enterprise
China Development Bank and Bank of China as part of a consortium of major Chinese banks on the Uzbek law aspects of limited recourse project financing for the Uzbek sections of the Central Asia–China gas pipeline
a foreign mining and metals company on the negotiation and execution of an exploration concession agreement with the Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the development of a copper project in Uzbekistan
