Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend / On 20 September, Azerbaijan will celebrate the Oil Worker's Day and the 13th Anniversary of signing of the Contract of the Century envisaging the development of a block of large offshore fields Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli. The Oil Worker's Day was established in 2001 by the order of the late Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev.
The Contract of the Century signed on 20 September 1994 saw the beginning of the intensive development of oil and gas resources of Azerbaijan's Caspian shelf. Over 700,000 barrels of high-gravity oil is produced in Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli. In the near future production will reach 1mln barrels of oil every 24 hours. The oil is exported through Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) and is transported by rail to the Georgian Batumi port. Over 55mln tons of oil was produced in the Chirag field and over 35mln tons was produced in the Azeri field by the end of the 2nd Quarter of 2007 (from November 1998).
The parties involved in the Contract of the Century are BP (operator), Chevron, SOCAR, Inpex, Statoil, ExxonMobil, TPAO, Devon Energy, Itochu, and Delta Hess.
The PR head and the spokesman for the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Nizamaddin Guliyev stated "Signing of the Contract of the Century with Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev in 1994 precipitated Azerbaijan's international integration. This led to the profound development of cooperation in the region and to the development of the entire region. Today Azerbaijan is the leader in the region. Implementation of energy projects in Azerbaijan and the projects involving Azerbaijan plays an important part for energy security of both Azerbaijan and Europe".
Representative of the US Embassy in Azerbaijan, Jonathan Henick stated "Signing of the Contract of the Century is very important for Azerbaijan and the Caspian region. Signing of the contract is a result of powerful and intelligent policy of Azerbaijan with the support of the United States and other countries. Thirteen years have past since the signing and now it is seen that the pipeline [BTC] plays a special role in global energy politics".
The Deputy Director-General of Azerbaijan's Pasa Sigorta insurance company, Nofel Rzayev stated "The Contract of the Century gave Azerbaijan prospects with which the country entered the 21st Century, and led to a high rate of economic development, attraction of high-tech industry, support for the development of the non-oil infrastructure, formation of market economy based on modern society".
Ex-head of Economics and Financial Credit Policy Department at the Azerbaijani Cabinet's Administration, Ogtay Hagverdiyev stated "Oil and gas production has increased in Azerbaijan since 1997. In the last 2 years we have observed a rapid increase in oil export, an increase in oil income which enables the solution of many social problems. Today many infrastructure projects are implemented accurately owing to oil incomes.
PR Manager of Azerbaijan's Bakcell mobile network operator, Ilham Afandiyev stated "The Contract of the Century lifted Azerbaijan's economy, attracted investment flow into the country, both to oil and non-oil fields. This contract will serve the development of the country in the future as well".
The Director-General of Azerin, internet services providing company, and the head of Azerbaijan's Internet Association, former MP Galib Gurbanov stated "The importance of the contract is in its name - the Contract of the Century - which says everything. Azerbaijan had oil potential but had neither financial nor technical opportunities to produce oil in the Caspian Sea and to sell it in the world market. That became possible only owing to attraction of world companies, owing to the West's assistance. For me this contract is much more important for when the contract was being developed I was the Deputy Chairman of the parliamentary commission on economic policy and participated in the process of it design. When the votes for the contract were being held I said 'Yes'. The contract opened a way to the West for Azerbaijan, enabled implantation of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project".
The Deputy President of Azerbaijan's Standard Insurance company, Aydin Rahmanov stated "The Contract of the Century is Azerbaijan's visiting card in world community and world economy. The contract gave a great impetus to the growth of Azerbaijan's economics".
The expert of Trend analytical centre, Ellada Khankishieva stated "Thirteen years after signing the Contract of the Century we can say with confidence that the global experiment of Azerbaijan succeeded. Coinciding with the term when Azerbaijan gained independence the contract served recognition from most leading countries of self-government policy of Azerbaijan. It was a serious challenge for the US and Great Britain, and the following events proved that they made the correct choice.
The role of the contract is huge for the economy of Azerbaijan, particularly in the increase in the price of oil in the world market. The Contract of the Century played a key role in the integration processes in Azerbaijan in the world markets and drew such important investments and managements equipment".
Deputy Head of the State Marine Administration of Azerbaijan, Namik Agamaliyev stated "The Contract of the Century can be considered as one of the most far-reaching steps of the Azerbaijani leadership. Development of the oil industry has direct effect on the development of the marine transport fleet, which is being upgraded and stronger each year. Azerbaijani vessels fulfil oil transport and support marine operations within the framework of oil and gas projects".
MP Ali Masimov, a member of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary Commission on Economy Policy stated "The Contract of the Century caused an impact on integration of Azerbaijan to the world economy. Income from oil caused an increase of the State budget, implementation of socio-economic projects and particular resolution of social problems".
Osman Gunduz, the Director NGO of the Information Systems and Technologies Centre and President of Internet forum of Azerbaijan stated "The Contract of the Century became one of the important factors for all spheres of Azerbaijan, including economy, policy and social life. The contract allowed Azerbaijan to distinguish among other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent Countries (CIS). Today we can see the results of the contract and I can see a positive influence of the contract on the oil sector of the country in the future. The Contract of the Century is the way of development for Azerbaijan".
Jahangir Aliyev, the Chairman of the Republic Committee of Trade Union of workers of oil and gas industry of Azerbaijan stated "A new historical era began for Azerbaijan by signing the Contract of the Century. The document became a guarantee for further important contracts which caused an increase of oil production in Azerbaijan. The contract became an impetus for the general development of Azerbaijan's economy. In my opinion, 20 September is not only the festival of oil workers but also of all Azerbaijanis".
The head of Azerbaijan's Free Consumers Union, Eyyub Huseynov stated "The Contract of the Century gave Azerbaijan the balance of power, wealth and glory".
The Spokesman for Azerbaijan's Azercell mobile network operator, Rufat Abbasov stated "The Contract of the Century which was signed 13 years ago laid the foundation for further dynamic development of both energy field and all the economy of Azerbaijan".
The President of Ganjabank, a single regional bank in Azerbaijan, Fuad Musayev stated "Development began in all economic fields after signing of the Contract of the Century. Baku was included in the list of the world's most important cities. Great oil incomes expected for 2007-08 will perhaps go to Azerbaijan's banking sector, which will enable more rapid development of that field. Along with the achievements, the main problem is still the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, for it affects the flow of foreign investments into Azerbaijani regions".