Azerbaijan's State Oil Company, BP agree to expand long-term cooperation in energy sector

BAKU. May 12 (Interfax) - The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) and BP have signed a memorandum providing for the expansion of long-term cooperation in the energy sector, according to a statement from BP in Azerbaijan.

BP Chief Executive Officer Meg O'Neill and the company's executive vice president for production and operations, Gordon Birrell, met with the Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov as part of a planned two-day business visit to Azerbaijan, the statement said. During the meeting, two memoranda of understanding were signed.

In particular, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, currently being created by the ministry, was signed with the Economy Ministry.

BP and SOCAR signed a memorandum providing for the facilitation, further strengthening and expansion of long-term cooperation in the energy sector.

According to BP in Azerbaijan, O'Neill and Birrell also discussed with officials BP's commitment to long-term commitments to Azerbaijan and common goals in the areas of innovation, sustainable development and growth.

Discussions also touched on the development of free natural gas reserves (in deep-lying formations) of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block of fields and the project to build a compressor platform at the Shah Deniz gas condensate field.

In addition, work being carried out by BP as part of the Karabagh field development project and the Aypara-Dan Ulduzu-Ashrafi (ADUA) block, as well as the construction of the Shafag solar power plant and the electrification of the Sangachal terminal, were discussed.

At the meeting of BP's management with Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, an exchange of views took place on the situation in global energy markets.

"It was noted that Azerbaijan has identified electricity export as a priority area amid growing global demand for electricity," the Energy Ministry said.

During the conversation, the parties also expressed mutual interest in further expanding cooperation between Azerbaijan and BP.