BP and SOCAR sign deal on Caspian Sea gas resources
Oil group BP signed a deal with Azerbaijan on the 7th of October to explore and develop a big Caspian Sea gas field, cementing the oil giant's leading position in the energy-rich former Soviet republic, the Turkish newspaper “Hurriyet” reports.
The agreement is signed for 30 years and concerns the deepwater Shafag-Asiman field. The treaty was signed in the presence of new BP chief executive Bob Dudley and was his first deal since being appointed to the office earlier this month after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster forced out his predecessor Tony Hayward.
SOCAR estimates the field has gas reserves of 500 milliard cubic meters.
The deal puts the field which lies 125 kilometers southeast of the capital of Baku, on par with the country's current largest natural gas field, Shakh Deniz. BP has a 25 percent stake in that prospect.
