Azernews.Az

By Sara Israfilbayova

Revenues of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) from the project of development of the country’s Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block of oil and gas fields amounted to $135.142 billion from early 2001.

The Fund reported that the company received $6.656 billion in the framework of the ACG project during January-August 2018.

A contract for development of ACG block of oil and gas fields was signed in 1994 for 30 years.

Thirteen companies from eight countries (Azerbaijan, the U.S., Great Britain, Russia, Turkey, Norway, Japan, and Saudi Arabia) have participated in signing of the "Contract of the Century".

Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and BP-operated Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) signed an agreement on future development of the ACG field in December 2016.

The agreement will cover the development of the field until 2050 and will add significant resource development potential. The document specifies the key commercial terms for the future development of the ACG field and enables the parties to conclude negotiations and finalize fully-termed agreements in the next few months.

The ACG field, which lies 120km off the coast of Azerbaijan, is considered to be the largest oilfield in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.

The proven oil reserves of the block amounts to approximately 1 billion tons.

Shareholders of the ACG development include BP with 30.37 percent, AzACG - 25 percent, Chevron – 9.57 percent, Inpex – 9.31 percent, Equinor - 7,27 percent, ExxonMobil – 6.79 percent, TP – 5.73 percent, ITOCHU – 3.65 percent, ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) - 2,31 percent.

SOFAZ was established under the Presidential Decree, dated December 29, 1999, "On Establishment of the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan".

The main purpose of the establishment of the Fund was to preserve and multiply the income derived from oil, create an excellent economic base, taking into account social needs, the requirements of economic progress and development of the country. Besides, the challenge ahead is to protect the country's economy from possible negative influences caused by the growth of foreign exchange earnings and avoidance of damage to financial discipline.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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