Ex-chief of GIOC to advise Azeri oil company
Oct 28, 2004 02:00 AM
Ex-chief of Georgian International Oil Company (GIOC), Gia Chanturia, is reportedly appointed as an advisor for the
Azeri State Oil Company.
According to the reports Chanturia would coordinate on Georgia-related projects with the Azeri company.
Chanturia presided over GIOC since its inception in 1995 and was considered one of the closest allies of President
Eduard Shevardnadze. He was in charge of negotiating and implementing the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines.
Before the November 2003 Rose Revolution, it was rumoured that Chanturia may succeed Shevardnadze after his
retirement in 2005. Mikheil Saakashvili dismissed Chanturia on September 9, 2004.
Source: PIN
