Energy giant Equinor has signed an agreement with Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR to develop the Karabakh oilfield in the Caspian Sea.
The deal will see Statoil Azerbaijan, which is part of Equinor, form a 50-50 operating company with SOCAR.
It will also see the new company share operatorship for the Ashrafi, Dan Ulduzu, Aypara area.
Karabakh lies 75 miles off the coast of Baku in Azerbaijan, close to SOCAR’s Shallow Water Gunashli field and the BP-operated Azeri Chirag field, which Equinor holds a 7.27% interest in.
The Ashrafi, Dan Ulduzu, Aypara exploration area is located around 60 miles north-east of Baku.
Equinor said a final investment decision on the plan will be taken after appraisal and engineering work is carried out.
Eldar Sætre, president and CEO of Equinor said: ““The agreements signed today represent a natural next step in the region.
“This will strengthen our position in a prolific basin and develop growth options. The licenses lie in close proximity to the ACG field in a basin we know well. We now look forward to work on these new exploration projects in partnership with SOCAR.”
SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said: ““Today we enter a new phase of cooperation between SOCAR and Equinor. 25 years of partnership between our companies have laid a solid foundation for efficient cooperation on the new joint projects.
“These agreements will take on significance, contributing to the stability of oil production and satisfying the growing demand for natural gas in Azerbaijan, while providing raw materials for the processing industry.”