Ergash Rahmatullayevich Shoismatov (Russified form Shaismatov is also used) is the current Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan

Prime Minister of Uzbekistan

According to the Constitution of Uzbekistan, the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan and the deputy ministers are appointed by the President.-Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars:*Fayzulla Khodzhayev...

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On August 30, 2006 Shoismatov announced that the Uzbek government and an international consortium consisting of state-run Uzbekneftegaz

Uzbekneftegaz

Uzbekneftegaz ) is a state-owned holding company of Uzbekistan's oil and gas industry.-History:Uzbekneftegaz was established in 1992...

, LUKoil

LUKoil

Lukoil/LUKoil ; ) is Russia's second largest oil company and its second largest producer of oil. In 2009, the company produced 97.615 million tons of oil; ....

 Overseas, Petronas

Petronas

PETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...

, Korea National Oil Corporation

Korea National Oil Corporation

Korea National Oil Corporation is the national oil and gas company of South Korea and one of the most important industrial companies in the country...

, and China National Petroleum Corporation

China National Petroleum Corporation

China National Petroleum Corporation is a state-owned fuel-producing corporation and the largest integrated oil and gas company in the People's Republic of China...

 had signed a production-sharing agreement to explore and develop oil and gas fields in the Aral Sea

Aral Sea

The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...

, saying, “The Aral Sea is largely unknown, but it holds a lot of promise in terms of finding oil and gas. There is risk, of course, but we believe in the success of this unique project." The consortium was created in September 2005.