Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
OPEC highly values Azerbaijan's role in process of stabilizing the oil prices on the world market, Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said in an interview with Trend.
The minister reminded that OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo visited Azerbaijan upon President Ilham Aliyev’s invitation on March 17-19, 2018.
"The industrial oil production for the first time began in Baku in the middle of the 19th century. Azerbaijan is in the focus of attention both because the advanced innovations in the fields of hydrocarbon exploration, production and processing for the first time were applied here, and because the country plays an important role in energy security and implements projects that change the world energy map,” the minister said.
Shahbazov stressed that OPEC's interest in Azerbaijan is linked with the successful implementation of transnational projects, as well as the country's joining the Cartel's initiatives as part of the process to stabilize oil prices in recent years and close participation in this.
OPEC highly appreciates the role of Azerbaijan in this process. This was once again noted at the recent Jeddah meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee established to monitor the implementation of the deal on oil output cut,” Shahbazov said.
"Regarding Azerbaijan's accession to OPEC, I believe that at this stage it is more expedient for us to continue cooperation in the format of OPEC +," Shahbazov said.
In December 2016, at a meeting of oil producers in Vienna, 11 non-OPEC member countries, including Azerbaijan, agreed to cut oil production by a total of 558,000 barrels a day. The agreement was concluded for the first half of 2017 and was extended until the end of the first quarter of 2018 at a meeting on May 25, 2017.
At the last OPEC meeting in Vienna, the agreement was again extended until the end of 2018. Azerbaijan supported the decision.
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