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BP and its co-venturers in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) project – SOCAR, Chevron, INPEX, Equinor, ExxonMobil, TPAO, ITOCHU, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) – today presented a book which represents major research into the 25-year history of Azerbaijan’s new oil era. The book marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the “Contract of the Century” on 20 September 1994 and is ACG shareholders’ contribution to the celebrations of this landmark event in Azerbaijan’s new history.
Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, BP’s Vice President, Communications, External Affairs, Strategy and Region, said: “We believe the book will serve as a reliable source of information about the ACG fields. While over the past 25 years ACG information has been part of almost all oil industry related publications in Azerbaijan and beyond, this is the first time all aspects of this remarkable story have been produced as one impressive narrative.
“What has been achieved since 1994 is extraordinary enough – for Azerbaijan, its people and the regional nations, for companies like BP and our co-venturers in the ACG contract, for the thousands of local people who have worked and continue to work on ACG projects, for hundreds of Azerbaijani businesses that have been involved. By supporting this publication, BP and its co-venturers in the ACG contract have wished to once again recognize the huge role this contract has played in our lives and in everything that has led to the transformation of the entire country.”
The 190-page illustrated book narrates the ACG story in three sections –
1) ACG`s discovery and initial development during Soviet times;
2) ACG from 1994 to nowadays: emergence of world-class upstream and midstream infrastructure; and
3) Azerbaijan`s gains from ACG – foreign currency reserves; the growing state budget and pension fund revenues; the growing pool of local contractors capable to serve the needs of the oil and gas industry; the sustainable investments in social development made by BP and its co-venturers in the ACG contract.
The book is published in 500 copies all of which will be presented to universities and researchers, libraries and members of the business community.
The author of the research and the book is Ilham Shaban, a leading business journalist and an internationally known economic analyst with long experience in and comprehensive knowledge of Azerbaijan`s energy industry and its evolution driven by not only domestic demand, but also geopolitical and geo-economic developments.