Major oil deals signed in Baku
Jun. 2, 1998 Four new oil and gas exploration contracts were signed by Azerbaijan and Western oil companies. The
deals are:
- A contract will be signed by SOCAR with Union Texas Petroleum and the British-Canadian Commonwealth Oil Refining
(20, 40 and 40 % of shares) to develop the Kobystan land oil field some 35 km from Baku. The price of the contract
for the estimated reserves of 20 mm tonnes of oil and 12 bn cubic metres of natural gas will be about $ 800 mm.
- SOCAR also signed an agreement with Frontera on basic principles for the development of Kursangya and Karabagly oil
fields in the Mugan steppe some 140 km south from Baku.
The project is estimated at some $ 700 mm.
- The first deal envisages survey and development of the promising Kurdashi oil field about 150 km south from Baku in
the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea. Participants in this $ 2.5 bn contract will be Azerbaijan's SOCAR, Italy's Agip,
Japan's Mitsui, and Turkish Petroleum, with 50, 25, 15 and 10 % respectively.
Kurdashi's estimated reserves amount to 100 million tonnes.
- The last contract to be signed is for the Inam Block, which lies 75 miles south of Baku, in the Caspian Sea. Operator Amoco, U.K.-based Monument Oil & Gas and Russia's Central Fuel Co. will share the contract with Socar.
