Baku, September 20, AZERTAC

bp and SOCAR (the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan) signed Friday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Baku announcing bp’s intention to join agreements on two exploration and development blocks in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea, according to bp Azerbaijan.

The first block is the Karabagh oil field, which is located 120 km east of Baku, 20-25 km from the Gunashli field at a water depth of 150-200 metres. There is an existing risk service agreement (RSA) for the development of the field signed in 2018 and ratified by the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan. SOCAR currently holds a 100% participating interest in the RSA.

The second block is the Ashrafi – Dan Ulduzu – Aypara (ADUA) area located 90-110 km northeast of Baku at water depths ranging from 80 to 180 metres, containing a number of existing discoveries and prospective structures. There is an existing agreement on the exploration, development and production sharing (PSA) in relation to the ADUA area entered into in 2018 and ratified by the Milli Majlis. Currently SOCAR holds a 100% participating interest in the PSA.

Rovshan Najaf, President of SOCAR, said: “We are delighted to further expand our strategic partnership with bp through this MOU, particularly on the 30th anniversary of the signing of the ‘Contract of the Century.’ This historic agreement, championed by our national leader Heydar Aliyev, laid the foundation for Azerbaijan’s energy success. Today, as we take new steps in the Caspian Sea, we honour that legacy by continuing to foster innovation, cooperation, and sustainable energy development for the future.”

Gary Jones, bp’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, said: “We are pleased to sign the MOU which enables us to commence discussions with SOCAR for our participation in the exploration and development of Karabagh and ADUA. We see this as another great opportunity to work jointly with SOCAR adding to our 30 year-long exceptionally successful partnership.

We believe our participation in the exploration and development of the two blocks would speed up the progress of the projects through synergies as we work together to identify development scenarios that would make best use of the world class infrastructure we operate in the region. This would also provide the two projects with access to bp’s global experience, technical and commercial knowledge, advanced technology and financial resources. We look forward to this significant business opportunity and to SOCAR’s support for realizing it.”