bp, SOCAR enter talks for joint development of Karabakh oil field

bp's head of external communications for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye Tamam Bayatly has announced that bp and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) are currently in negotiations regarding the joint development of the Karabakh oil field. 

Bayatly made these remarks during a briefing with journalists, Caliber.Az reports.

The Karabakh oil field is located about 120 kilometres east of Baku, and approximately 20–25 kilometres from the Gunashli field, at a depth of 150–200 metres. 

“We are interested in joining the Karabakh project. We have expressed our intention and are currently working on it together with SOCAR,” Bayatly stated, confirming bp's commitment to advancing the collaboration.

She went on to explain that the project involves numerous technical and commercial conditions, each requiring thorough negotiation and agreement. Once these terms are finalised, both parties will prepare a formal agreement for signing, marking the next step in the development process.

This announcement follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between bp and SOCAR in September 2024, where bp expressed its intention to join two key exploration and production blocks in Azerbaijan's sector of the Caspian Sea. These include the Karabakh oil field and the Ashrafi–Dan Ulduzu–Aypara (ADUA) block.

By Naila Huseynova