Azerbaijan’s SOCAR signs agreements for oil exploration with Exxon and BP
Azeri SOCAR, the state-owned energy company of Azerbaijan, signed agreements with Exxon Mobil & BP for oil and natural gas exploration in Azerbaijan at a conference on energy in Baku.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Azerbaijan's proven oil reserves are 7 billion barrels. Its proven natural gas reserves are 1.7 trillion cubic meters.
The country's oil output has been declining for several years after the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) complex of oilfields passed its peak of 50 million metric tons, or 1 million barrels per day, in 2010.
BP declined comment. Exxon Mobil didn't immediately respond to a comment request.
BP announced a new strategy in February that will increase spending on oil and gas while reducing spending on low-carbon businesses. According to a document obtained by the, BP is looking to sell half of its Lightsource bp solar unit to a strategic investor in exchange for cash and future investment commitments.
BP has already begun to work on stemming the decline in output from producing fields in Caspian Sea. Production chief Gordon Birrell stated in March that BP planned to explore new oilfields within the Azeri Caspian.
BP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SOCAR last year on the possibility of joining the Karabagh Oilfield and the Ashrafi - Dan Ulduzu - Aypara exploration area.
BP announced that it has made a final decision regarding its 240 Megawatt Shafag Solar Plant project, which it is building in Azerbaijan's Jabrayil District via its solar unit Lightsource bp. It is a joint venture with Socar and Azerbaijan Business Development Fund.
BP stated that construction will cost $200m and should be completed in mid-2027. BP says the project will use virtual power transfer arrangements, which are linked to the Sangachal Oil and Gas Terminal on the Caspian Sea operated by BP. This will allow the project to export more gas than it would produce locally and use less gas for local power production. The cost of re-electrifying Sangachal will be around $230 millions.
Azerbaijan will increase its natural gas exports to a total 8 billion cubic meters (bcm), President Ilham Aliyev announced at a conference on Monday.
Aliyev stated that the additional volume will be produced in five existing fields and from new ones.
Azerbaijan will export 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2024. (Reporting and writing by Felix Light, with additional reporting by Shadia Nasralla from London; and editing by Tom Hogue and Guy Faulconbridge)
(source: Reuters)
