Azerbaijan extends Shah Deniz gas deal to 2036

Azerbaijan has extended the production sharing agreement (PSA) over the Shah Deniz gas project for extra five years, a top official said on Friday, the move shows that the country's relations with BP, the project's operator, are improving, Trend cites Reuters as saying.

Azerbaijan's biggest gas field has been producing gas since 2006 and has a production capacity of 8 billion cubic metres per year. The second phase of the project is expected to be launched in 2018.

"We have agreed to extend the Shah Deniz agreement to 2036, and the Shah Deniz partners will now proceed with phase 2", Elshad Nassirov, vice president of the Azerbaijani state oil company (SOCAR), told Reuters in Davos.