Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr S. Aliyev / The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and the French company, Total, are holding commercial talks on the project of exploration and development of Absheron sea block.
Within the framework of the memorandum signed with the French company SOCAR undertook the obligation not to hold talks on the matter with other companies within the validity period of the memorandum. The document was signed on 8 February 2007. The period of validity is for one year.
SOCAR submitted a package of proposals on the Absheron block to Total. A consortium of companies was already working at the block, with the operator being the American ChevronTexaco company. Total was a party to the contract. However, after drilling a well, the deposits revealed in the field were found to be commercially unattractive.
"Today, taking into consideration the high price of oil in the world the block has again become attractive for development," a source at SOCAR noted.