BP, Azerbaijan's SOCAR sign memorandum on Karabagh, ADUA projects in Caspian Sea

BAKU. Sept 23 (Interfax) - State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) and BP plc have signed a memorandum of understanding on two projects in the Caspian Sea: the Karabagh oil field and Ashrafi, Dan Ulduzu and Aypara or ADUA block, SOCAR told Interfax.

"The memorandum was signed in Baku on Friday during an event to mark the 30th anniversary of the Contract of the Century to develop the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block. BP Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Gary Jones said this document is an important step in continuing 30 years of successful partnership with SOCAR," it said.

BP believes its "participation in the exploration and development of the two blocks would speed up the progress of the projects through synergies as we work together to identify development scenarios that would make best use of the world class infrastructure we operate in the region," Jones said in press release issued by BP Azerbaijan.

"This would also provide the two projects with access to BP's global experience, technical and commercial knowledge, advanced technology and financial resources. We look forward to this significant business opportunity and to SOCAR's support for realizing it," Jones said.

The Karabagh oil field is located 120 km east of Baku, 20-25 km from the Gunashli field at a water depth of 150-200 meters. The ADUA area is located 90-110 km northeast of Baku at water depths ranging from 80 to 180 meters.

SOCAR and Equinor signed a production sharing agreement for the exploration and development of ADUA and a risk service contract for the development of the Karabagh field on May 31, 2018, and they formed a 50-50 operating company to implement the project. However, in December 2023 Equinor agreed to sell its 50% stake in the projects to SOCAR and the deal was closed on April 24, 2024.