Vice President: BP transferred over $135B to SOFAZ

By Trend

Of course, Azerbaijan mainly achieved success thanks to the correct and decisive oil and gas policy, BP Vice President Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli told Trend on Dec. 16 within the video project entitled “PREZIDENT. Musteqillik. Tehlukesizlik. Rifah”.

“Big projects implemented under the authorship of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over these years have improved the country's credibility in the world and strengthened the Azerbaijani economy,” the BP vice-president added.

“That is, if not for income from the energy sector, Azerbaijan would not have achieved development which is currently obvious,” Aslanbayli said. “Of course, cooperation with BP is of strategic importance in the implementation of globally significant oil and gas projects.”

“In early 1990s, BP supported the implementation of historical projects related to Azerbaijan in a very difficult geopolitical situation,” the BP vice-president said.

Aslanbayli said that the important role of BP in the implementation of these projects in the early stages and that it was the project operator, was of great importance.

“At the same time, this instills a sense of pride because we achieved implementation of these projects in safe conditions within 25 years,” the BP vice-president added. “No serious incident was recorded, there were no casualties, operations were carried out safely during this period.”

“Some 3.6 billion barrels of oil have been extracted so far,” Aslanbayli said. “Over $135 billion were transferred to the state budget, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ). This project was successful in terms of both production and finance. Another factor stipulating the success of the project was the compliance of the country's oil and gas industry to the modern standards."

The BP vice-president also emphasized that Azerbaijan was close to BP during difficult periods for the company, in particular, during the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, when there were controversial rumors related to the company's reputation and future.

"Azerbaijan and the company signed a new production sharing agreement,” Aslanbayli said. “The signing of a contract with BP by such an influential energy center, such an oil and gas country as Azerbaijan, was an expression of confidence in the company’s reputation and future and this was highly appreciated by the company. In fact, it was Azerbaijan’s support for the company."