Baku, Azerbaijan, May 7
By Emin Aliyev, Emil Ismayilov -Trend:
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan purchased total volume of primary issue bonds of the "Southern Gas Corridor" ("Cənub Qaz Dəhlizi") CJSC, according to the broker of the acquirer - INVESTAZ Company.
Total amount of issue, the prospectus which has been recently registered by the Azerbaijani State Securities Committee, is $917,320,800. In total, some 9,173,208 bonds with a nominal value of $ 100 each will be placed at the Baku Stock Exchange.
"The volume of transaction is the largest in the history of BSE," the report said.
The turnover period is 10 years, with a yield of six-month Libor +1 percent. Interest payments will be carried out every six months.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree in February establishing a closed joint-stock company (CJSC) for effective management of projects within the second phase of Shah Deniz gas and condensate field's development, expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline, Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The closed joint stock company will be 51 percent state-owned and 49 percent owned by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan.
State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) has been instructed to provide equity financing for the CJSC, which is under direct state ownership. The funds remitted to the CJSC for financing the equity will provide a long-term return on investment.
Gas will be supplied as part of the Southern Gas Corridor. This project will allow Europe to diversify its hydrocarbon source supply and increase its energy security, while Azerbaijan opens a new market in Europe.
The final investment decision was made on the second phase of the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz offshore gas and condensate field's development on December 17, 2013. Some 10 billion cubic meters of gas from the field will be supplied to the European market.
The contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field, which has proven reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas, was signed on June 4, 1996.
Participants in the Shah Deniz field development are the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) with a share of 16.7 percent, British BP (28.8 percent), Norway's Statoil (15.5 percent), Iran's NICO (10 percent), French Total (10 percent), Russia's Lukoil (10 percent), Turkish TPAO (9 percent).
Translated by S.I.
Edited by C.N.