Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 31
By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:
History proved that those who did not believe in a new agreement on development of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block of oil and gas fields were wrong, Siyavush Novruzov, deputy executive secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, said.
He made the remarks at a plenary session of the Azerbaijani Parliament Oct. 31 during the discussion of the new agreement.
Novruzov, who is also chairman of the parliamentary committee on public associations and religious organizations, said that then individuals who wanted to become presidential candidates did not support this agreement and called it a fantasy.
The MP added that today this agreement brings great benefits to Azerbaijan and plays an important role in the development of the country.
Following the ratification of the contract, the new ACG participating interests will be as follows: BP - 30.37 percent; AzACG (SOCAR) - 25.00 percent; Chevron - 9.57 percent; INPEX - 9.31 percent; Statoil - 7.27 percent; ExxonMobil - 6.79 percent; TP - 5.73 percent; ITOCHU - 3.65 percent; and ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) - 2.31 percent.
The agreement has already entered into force and will be valid until December 31, 2049.
As part of the contract, the international co-venturers will pay a bonus of $3.6 billion to the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) and SOCAR will increase its equity share in the ACG PSA from 11.65 percent to 25 percent. During the next 32 years, there is the potential for more than $40 billion to be invested in the ACG oil field.