RAFI Oil Company has become the 24th extractive sector company that joined Memorandum of Understanding on Implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Azerbaijan by signing the Instrument of Accession to MOU on October 25, 2006, Trend reports referring to a message spread by SOFAZ (State oil Fund of Azerbaijan). Its Executive Director, Shakhmar Movsumov heads the EITI Mission to Azerbaijan. The National Committee on EITI, 21 foreign and local extractive industry (oil and gas) companies (including SOCAR, Р'Р Azerbaijan, Exxon, Statoil, Total, Lukoil, Unocal, Shell, Devon Energy, etc.) and non-governmental organizations signed MOU on November 24, 2004. Japan's Inpex joined MOU later, on July 19, 2005, while Binagadi Oil signed the Instrument of Accession to MOU on October 13, 2006.
RAFI Oil was invited by the National EITI Committee to accede to the MOU last month. The company will submit the report on payments to the Azerbaijani Government over the first half of 2006.
On August 16, 2006, SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) and RAFI Oil signed a PSA contract on the development and rehabilitation of onshore field Surakhani. RAFI Oil holds 75% of the project, SOCAR rest 25%.
Oil field Surakhani was found in 1904 by fountain well with the debit of 35 tons per day. Since the moment the field was found, totally 114.5 mln. tons of oil and over 10 bln. cubic meters have been produced. The highest oil production from the field was registered in 1931 when 4.189 mln. tons of oil was produced.
The remaining recoverable resources of the field are 6,822 mln. tons of oil, with potentially recoverable resources - 94%. Totally 492 wells are operating in the area. 234 out of them are acting ones. The volume of investments to the project is estimated at $400 mln.
According to the contract, RAFI Oil is obliged to increase the oil production by 1.5 times within two years. The contract signed is considered for 25 years.