Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend Trend S.Aliyev / A high-ranking representative of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) said that SOCAR had not received the official notification from Indian ONGC Videsh Ltd to join the development project of Azerbaijani onshore field of Kurovdag .
"There are many companies wishing to join the development project of Kurovdag , but without consent of SOCAR, the partners may not sell their shares," he stated.
The contract to develop the onshore field of Kurovdag was signed on the 5th of November 2005. The validity of the contract is 25 years. Over three years, the operating company will have to increase the oil production by 1.5 times as compared to production in 2003. Participants in the project are Caspian Energy Group with 51% and State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) with 49%.
ONGC Videsh wishes to purchase a share of the Caspian Energy Group for $300 mln. Kurovdagh field was discovered in 1929 and has been developed since 1956. The maximum production on the field was noticed in 1966 at a level of 40,000 barrels per day. In January-April 72,750 tons of oil was produced in the field. In April alone, production totaled 18,120 tons. Currently the oil on the field is produced by joint venture Shirvan Oil, but at present, the JV is transferred to PSA.