SOCAR president: 26 oil contracts have been signed with foreign oil companies thus far

"So far (since 1994)  26 oil contracts have been signed with foreign oil companies. The afore-said contracts envisage investments worth $60 billion in oil and gas production in Azerbaijan,” he said.

“Over the past 15 years, investment in oil and gas production totaled $29 billion. About $1 billion accounted for bonuses other payments,”Abdullayev said.

He said investments only in the development of Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields totalled $21 billion and bonuses and equity payments - $413 million.

"Along with the “Contract of the Century " a significant investment in the country was brought by another significant project - the Shah Deniz field in which $5 billion was invested and bonuses and equity payments totaled $87.8 million,” the SOCAR president said.

Tthe amount of capital investment in the project of construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was $ 4 billion and the project construction of the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku - Tbilisi - Erzurum) was $1 billion.

"According to approximate estimates of scientists for the implementation of the" Contract of the Century "Azerbaijan will receive more than $200 billion in revenue. These funds will be directed both at increasing economic power of the state, and through the State Oil Fund for the welfare of present and future generations,” Abdullayev added.

Participants of Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields include SOCAR (10%), BP (34,1367 %, operator), U.S. Chevron (10,2814%), ExxonMobil (8,0006%), Devon Energy (5,6262% ) and Amerada Hess (2.7%), Japan's Inpex Corp. (10%) and ITOCHU Oil (3,9205%), Norway's Statoil (8,5633%), Turkish TPAO (6,75%).

The contract on development of the Shah Deniz field was signed in Baku on June 4 ,1996 and ratified by Milli Majlis on Oct. 17 that year. Shah Deniz participants include BP (operator – 25.5%), Statoil (25.5%), SOCAR (10%), LUKoil (10%), NICO (10%), TotalFinaElf (10 %), and TPAO (9%).

The total length of BTC is 1.768 kilometers including the 443 kilometer section running via Azerbaijan, the 249 kilometer section via Georgia and the 1.076 kilometer via Turkey. Construction of the pipeline began in April 2003. It was filled with oil on May 18, 2005.

BTC shareholders include BP (30.1%); AzBTC (25%); Chevron (8.90%); Statoil Hydro (8.71%); TPAO (6.53%); Eni (5%); Total (5%); Itochu (3.40%); Inpex (2.50%); ConocoPhillips (2.50%) and Amerada Hess (2.36%).

/Interfax Azerbaijan/