BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 19. The share of companies in projects is not determinant for the function of operatorship, bp's vice president for external relations and communications in the Caspian region, Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli told reporters, Trend reports.
"The fact that SOCAR now owns a larger portion of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) strategic project than bp, the project's operator, has no bearing on bp's ability to meet its guiding commitments on this project. This is a typical situation in international practice. Operatorship is a duty granted by the state or project partners to a corporation or group of companies pursuant to an agreement. In the case of ACG, this is a right and job assigned by the state to bp, and we are executing this obligation," Aslanbayli said.
Meanwhile, Equinor signed an agreement with SOCAR on December 22, 2023, to sell its hydrocarbon assets in Azerbaijan.
In particular, Equinor sold to SOCAR 7.27 percent in ACG, 8.71 percent in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, 50 percent in the Karabakh field development project and other hydrocarbon projects.
SOCAR previously held 25 percent of ACG, 25 percent of BTC, and
50 percent of the Karabakh field.
The Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aipara structure was also included in the
transaction involving the sale of Equinor's assets in Azerbaijan to
the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan.
In 2024, the transactions will be consummated in accordance with
all regulatory and contractual duties.
According to exchange analysts, the asset sale transaction is worth
no more than $2 billion.
SOCAR's share in ACG will be increased to 32.27 percent (bp has
30.37 percent), BTC to 33.71 percent (bp has 30 percent), and the
Karabakh field will return to SOCAR's balance sheet.
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