The State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and BP signed a new production sharing agreement (PSA) to jointly explore for and develop potential prospects in the shallow water area around the Absheron Peninsula in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.

This new agreement is part of the plan of the Government of Azerbaijan to ensure that all offshore areas in the national sector of the Caspian Sea are fully explored, said in a press release. The PSA was signed by Rovnag Abdullayev, President of SOCAR, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Gordon Birrell, BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said: “The signing of this new PSA, which clearly deepens our partnership with BP, is an important milestone for all parties involved - the Government of Azerbaijan, SOCAR and BP. It marks the beginning of a new phase in our cooperation. This phase will enable us to work together to ensure the long term future for Azerbaijan’s oil and gas production through exploring new opportunities. We look forward to this new opportunity that has a potential to contribute to maintaining oil production in Azerbaijan for many decades.”

BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Gordon Birrell said: “BP is proud to embark on this new era of exploration in the Caspian together with SOCAR. This opens a new stage in our partnership. This new partnership is based on BP’s extensive experience in responsibly exploring and developing in shallow water areas around the world and our expertise in using the best technology available in the industry. So we thank the Government of Azerbaijan and SOCAR for another opportunity to deploy our expertise and technology, this time in the shallow water.”

The PSA contract area stretches along the margins of the Caspian basin to the south of the Absheron Peninsula. The acreage features water depths of up to 40 meters with potential reservoir depths of 3000-5000 meters.

About Socar

SOCAR is an integrated state oil & gas company of Republic of Azerbaijan and is involved in upstream, midstream and downstream operations encompassing exploration of oil and gas fields, production, processing and transporting oil, gas and condensate, marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets and supplying natural gas to domestic and industrial customers in Azerbaijan. SOCAR has its trading companies in Switzerland, Singapore and UAE and representative offices in a number of other countries.

About BP

BP is one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, serving millions of customers every day in more than 80 countries, and employing nearly 85,000 people. BP's business segments are oil and gas exploration & production, and refining & marketing. In alternative energies, BP has low- and no-carbon wind and biofuels businesses. Through these activities, BP provides fuel for transportation; energy for heat and light; services for motorists; and petrochemicals products for plastics, textiles and food packaging. It has strong positions in many of the world's hydrocarbons basins and strong market positions in key economies.