Petroleum industry

in Azerbaijan

The petroleum industry in Azerbaijan

produces about 873,260 barrels
(138,837 m3) of oil per day and 29 billion
cubic meters of gas per year as of
2013.[1] Azerbaijan is one of the
birthplaces of the oil industry.
Onshore oil fields in Azerbaijan

Offshore oil fields in Azerbaijan

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan

Republic (known as SOCAR), a major
source of income for the Azerbaijani
government, is fully state-owned national
oil and gas company headquartered in
Baku, Azerbaijan.[2]

First oil boom

The Nobel Brothers' oil wells in Balakhani, a suburb of Baku.

In 1871, Ivan Mirzoev, an ethnic

Armenian who was then an otkupchina
monopolist, built the first wooden oil
derrick followed by another the next
year.[3][4] Drilling was conducted
primitively with a balance arm, whim and
manual pump.

Early history
Oil refinery in Baku circa 1912

There is evidence of petroleum being

used in trade as early as the 3rd and 4th
centuries.[5] Information on the
production of oil on the Apsheron
peninsula can be found in the
manuscripts of many Arabic and Persian
authors.

The following paragraph from the

accounts of the famous traveler Marco
Polo "il Milione" is believed to be a
reference to Baku oil: 'Near the Georgian
border there is a spring from which
gushes a stream of oil, in such
abundance that a hundred ships may
load there at once. This oil is not good to
eat; but it is good for burning and as a
salve for men and camels affected with
itch or scab. Men come from a long
distance to fetch this oil, and in all the
neighborhood no other oil is burnt but
this."[6]

A 1593 inscription in Balaxani

commemorates a manually dug well, 35
m deep.[7]

Historical production
The Turkish scientist and traveller of the
second part of the 17th century, Evliya
Çelebi, reported that "the Baku fortress
was surrounded by 500 wells, from which
white and black acid refined oil was
produced".

In 1636 Adam Oleary Elshleger (1603-

1671), a German diplomat and traveler,
gave description of 30 Baku oil wells and
remarked that some of them were
gushers.

The first detailed description of the Baku

oil industry was made by Engelbert
Kaempfer, Secretary of the Swedish
Embassy to Persia (Iran) in 1683.
In his notes he confirms the existence of
places where natural gas discharges to
the surface. Kaempfer describes "flaming
steppe" as follows: it "...constitutes a
peculiar and wonderful sight, for some of
the fissures were blazing with big, others
with quite flame and was allowing
everybody to come up; thirds emitted
smoke or at any case minimum
perceptible evaporation that was sending
off heavy and stinking taste of oil. It was
occupying the territory of 88 steps in
length and 26 in width."(improved
translation needed)

Many 18th and 19th century European

accounts of the Caucasus refer to the
Fire Temple of Baku at Suraxanı raion,
where the fire was fed by natural gas
from a cavern beneath the site.

Pre-revolution period

First oil fields in Bibiheybət in the outskirts of Baku

Haji Kasimbey Mansurbekov, in 1803 for

the first time in the world, began sea oil
extraction in Bibi-Heybat bay from two
wells in 18m and 30m away from coast
line. First offshore oil extraction was
abandoned when a strong storm in 1825
destroyed the wells.

In 1806, the Russian Empire occupied

Baku Khanate and took monopolistic
control of oil production.[7] Later
exclusive rights to produce oil were given
to individuals, thereby creating the
Persian otkupchina lease system.
That
year all oil sources of Absheron, Guba
and Salyan belonging to Baku khanate
were requisitioned and declared state
assets of Russia; and also, by the time of
the joining of the Baku khanate to Russia
about 120 wells were placed in the Baku
area; the annual extraction from these
wells made up about 200 thousand
poods of oil.

In 1837, the Russians built an oil-distilling

factory in Balaxani.[7]

Oil extraction methods in those times

were very primitive —mainly hand-dug
wells, drilled to very shallow depths. The
production volume of those years can be
judged from data provided in 1842 by the
Caspian Chamber of the Department of
State Property Ministry. It refers to 136
wells around Absheron, which produced
3,760 cubic metres (23,600 bbl) per year,
and this oil was exported to Persia,
where it was used for lighting as well as
in ointments and other traditional
remedies.

As a result of otkupschina monopoly and

the absence of growing demand, annual
oil production in the first half of the 19th
century remained unchanged at 250–300
poods (4–5 thousand tons). In 1813, the
number of producing wells was 116, then
125 in 1825, 120 in 1850, and only 218 in
1860. Otkupschina system meant that oil
production was monopolized by a set of
individuals who saw no incentive to
increase production or improve drilling
methods. In 1844 - a report detailing
ideas developed by Nikolay
Voskoboynikov (1801-1860) on drilling
for oil rather than digging pits by hand is
presented to the Russian government on
the Caucasus (Baku region) by Vasily
Semyonov (1801-1863). In 1845 Grand
Duke Mikhail Vorontsov (1782-1856),
Governor of the Caucasus authorizes
funds for oil drilling considering the ideas
of N.I. Voskoboynikov.

In 1846, under the supervision of state

advisor V.N. Semyonov an engineer
Alekseev drilled a 21 m deep well using a
primitive percussion drilling mechanism,
in Bibiheybət to explore for oil, with
positive results. More than a decade
later, on August 27, 1859, "Colonel" Edwin
L. Drake struck oil on American soil for
the first time.[8][9][7]

A small petrochemical industry sprung

up around Baku, as demand for kerosene
soared locally. Vasily Kokorev, Peter
Gubonin and German baron N.E. Tornow
built the first kerosene factory in
Surakhany. The factory was used to
produce kerosene out of "kir", an asphalt-
like substance. In 1859, N.I. Vitte, a Tiflis
pharmacist, built the second paraffin-
producing factory on Pirallahi Island.

Up until the 1870s, Russia had a state oil

monopoly for petroleum production and
reserves around Baku, based on 3-4 year
contracts. Production was limited to
bailing seepage from shallow wells dug
manually. The oil was then transported
by arbos (horse carriages carrying 2
barrels) to the shore of Baku bay. There,
kerosene was distilled in open stills, and
then transported to Russian markets,
especially St. Petersburg, via ship over
the Caspian Sea and Volga River. In 1873,
a new law replaced the contract-
monolopy with a long-term lease system,
and removed the kerosene excise tax in
1877.[10]

Robert Nobel arrived in Baku in March

1873, where he purchased an oil refinery,
and in 1875, purchased a large portion of
the Balakhani Oil Field, where he built a
new refinery. Nobel Brothers Petroleum
Production Company was founded in
1877, followed by Branobel in 1879. They
added infrastructure, including Russia's
first pipeline system in 1877, pumping
stations, storage depots, railway tank
cars, and the first successful ocean-
going oil tanker, the Zoroaster. In 1881,
they introduced continuous multi-still
distillation, and hired Hjalmar Sjögren as
the company geologist in 1885. The
Nobels built Villa Petrolea as a company
town that included apartments, houses,
schools, and libraries, while employees
were given profit-sharing and free
education.[10]
The Baku Petroleum Association was
formed in 1884, to prevent the
exportation of crude oil. Instead, a large
kerosene pipeline was constructed
between 1897 and 1907, connecting
Baku to Batum.[10]: 46–47 

The oil barons in Baku established their

own organization, the Oil Extractors
Congress Council for the discussion of
the oil business. They created their own
magazine, Neftyanoe Delo (Oil Business),
a library, school, hospital, and pharmacy.
For six years, the Council of Oil
Extractors Congress was directed by
Ludvig Nobel.
The oil industry greatly influenced the
architectural appearance of Baku as a
modern city. Administrative, social and
municipal institutions were established
which, in turn, made decisions about the
city's illumination, roads, streets,
buildings, telephone stations, and horse-
drawn trolleys. Gardens and parks were
laid out and hotels, casinos and beautiful
stores were built.

First, exclusive rights to develop Baku oil

fields were in the hands of Russian-
registered businesses, and only in 1898
foreign companies were granted rights to
explore and develop oil fields as well as
to participate in the annual bidding
process. Between 1898 and 1903 British
oil firms invested 60 million rubles in
Baku oil fields. Ethnic Armenians also
contributed to the oil production and
drilling around Baku. They reportedly ran
almost one-third of the region's oil
industry by 1900.[11]

Oil production

Oil wells in Baku, Azerbaijan, "Where it Rains Petroleum", ca.1909

Between 1898 and 1901, Baku produced
more oil than the US. By 1901, half of the
world's oil was produced from 1900
wells, located within 6 square
miles.[10]: 25, 56 

The main oil-producing regions were

located near Baku at Sabunchy,
Surakhany and Bibi-Heybat. Until the
beginning of the 20th century, the
Sabunchi region produced 35% of Baku's
oil, and the Bibi-Heybat region produced
28%, followed by the Romany and the
Balakhany regions. Most oil production
came from oil gushers in the early days,
although this was a very uneconomical
and environmentally-harmful process.
However, the share of blowout
production in the total decreased as the
equipment improved. In 1887 blowouts
had accounted for 42% of recovered oil,
but by 1890 their prevalence decreased
to 10.5%.

Foreign capital dominated the oil

industry of pre-revolutionary Russia. On
the eve of the World War I three
companies ("Russian General Oil
Company", "Royal Dutch Shell" and
"Partnership of Nobel Brothers.") held
86% of all share capital and controlled
60% of oil production. In 1903, 12 English
companies with capital of 60 million
rubles were functioning in Baku region. In
1912, Anglo-Dutch Shell obtained 80% of
the shares of the Caspian-Black Sea
Society "Mazut", which had belonged to
De Rothschild Frères. Other British firms
purchased oil operations from Hajji
Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.

In 1898, the Russian oil industry

produced more than the U.S. oil
production level. At that time,
approximately 8 million tons were being
produced (160,000 barrels (25,000 m3) of
oil per day). By 1901, Baku produced
more than half of the world's oil (11
million tons or 212,000 barrels
(33,700 m3) of oil per day), and 55% of all
Russian oil. Approximately 1.2 million
tons of Baku kerosene were also sold
abroad.

Local oil barons and foreign oil

companies

A painting of Zeynalabdin Taghiyev

Branobel Operating Company — largest

single oil producer in Azerbaijan at
25,000 bop/d in 1914. Largest refiner
and transporter of oil, as well as
retailer of kerosene in Europe. Markets
of France, Turkey, Greece and Germany
were fully supplied by Nobel-produced
kerosene and other products.
De Rothschild Frères — trading and
shipping in association with Shell.
Possessed largest tanker fleet in the
Caspian after Nobels.
Alexander Mantashev — an Armenian
oil tycoon, the owner of the third
largest oil company in Baku, A.I.
Mantashev & Co., by 1904.
Calouste Gulbenkian — an Armenian
oil tycoon, nicknamed "Mr Five Per
Cent". He arranged the merger of Royal
Dutch Petroleum Company with "Shell"
Transport and Trading Company Ltd.
and emerged as a major shareholder
of the newly formed company, Royal
Dutch Shell.[12]
Royal Dutch Shell — Shell acted
through following associated
companies: the Caspian Black Sea
Society, Caucasus, S.M. Shibayev, and
Co. Shell-led consortium produced a
fifth of Russian output up to 1914.
Royal Dutch Shell's output from the
Baku oil fields was 15,000 boppd in
1914.
Zeynalabdin Taghiyev — oil, textiles
and fishing. His firm was producing
1,900 bbl/d (300 m3/d) in 1887 and
occupied 4th place in refining business
"[13]
Aga Musa Nagiyev — oil and real
estate. He was the second-largest oil
producer and largest native producer
Murtuza Mukhtarov — oil drilling
services.
Shamsi Asadullayev — oil shipping,
largest native industrialist.
James Vishau and Anglo-Russian Oil
Company

Trade House Benkendorf and Co — oil

production.
The Russian Oil General Corporation
 — established in London in 1912 by
the most important Russian and
 foreign banks, united 20 companies.
These included A.I. Mantashev & Co.,
G.M. Lianozov Sons, Adamov and
sonsMoscow-Caucasus Trade
Company, Caspian Partnership, Russian
Petroleum Society, Absheron Petroleum
Society and others. This agglomeration
produced more than 30% of Russian oil
by 1916.

Distribution of Russian Oil Producers in 1900–13

There were other entrepreneurs with

lower rank who also made contributions
to industrial development of Azerbaijan,
such as Haji Baba Alekperov, Agasibek
Ashurbeyov, Ali Bala Zarbaliyev, Kerbalay
Zarbaliyev, Huseyin Melikov, G. Bagirov,
G. Aliyev, S. Zminov, Amir-Aslanov
brothers and others were owners of oil-
field areas in Sabunchi, Balakhani,
Romani, Shubani, Bibi-Heybat.

Subsurface and drilling

By the late 1890s, large companies

started to employ geologists to describe
and map prospective structures.
Geologist and oil specialist Dmitry
Golubyatnikov began a systematic
investigation of Absheron and predicted
the availability of oil deposits in
Surakhany field. In 1901, the Pirallahi oil
field was discovered and put on
production. Scientists like Ivan Gubkin,
Golubyatnikov and Uskin described the
productive series deposits of Azerbaijan
and the process generation for the first
time in 1916.

By the early 20th century, innovation

started to improve hitherto backward
well drilling practices. Most of the wells
up to that time were drilled by cable-tool
drilling method, which limited the
exploitation to shallow depth.
Qualified engineers (of which Fatulla
Rustambeyov is the first Azeri national)
contributed to the improvement of well
designs. By early 1913 the following
changes occurred in some of largest
producers such as Branobel.

Transition from percussion cable-tool

drilling to rotary drilling using electrical
drive.
Use of thread line casing pipe instead
of valve strings during drilling.
Replacement of wooden derricks with
metal ones.
The process of gaslift was tested for
the first time in 1915 in Romani field.
 The compression during transportation
of oil and gas was introduced in 1911.

Storage and transportation

In 1858, one of the major shipping

companies on the Caspian Sea — joint-
stock company "Kavkaz and Merkuriy"
was established and served as the first
oil shipping outlet.

Great changes were introduced in the

area of oil storage by Nobels. To
counteract the waste of the ground pits,
vessels and lakes where great quantities
of oil evaporated or simply penetrated
back into the ground, the company
started to use iron reservoirs for oil
storage.

The Oil Gush in Balakhany, one of the earliest films ever produced directed by the pioneer of cinema in Azerbaijan,
Alexander Mishon

The first successful oil tanker in the

world — a refurbished metal ship called
Zoroastr — was built in 1877 in Sweden
by Nobels. By 1890 345 tankers,
including 133 steam vessels and 212
sailing vessels were sailing on the
Caspian Sea. For instance, Mazut Trading
Co, created by Rothschild Frères in 1898,
possessed 13 tankers in Caspian Sea
alone. During these years, native
Azerbaijani shipowners appeared, of
which the largest fleet belonged to
Shamsi Asadullayev.

In 1877, construction of the first-ever oil

pipeline linking Surakhany oil field and
refinery in Baku was completed. By 1890,
there were more than 25 pipelines
totaling 286 km.

The Nobel Brothers were the first to

introduce railway tanks (cisterns) for oil
transportation, when the railway link
between Baku and Tiflis was built in
1883. The situation with limited
exporting options was solved by the
construction of the Baku–Batum
pipeline. After 1936 Batum renamed to
Batumi. Construction began in 1897 and
was completed 10 years later under
supervision of Professor N. L.
Szhukin.[14]

Revolution and Soviet

Republic
Several oil crises jolted Russia around
1903, when constant strikes, violence
and ethnic strife during Russian
Revolution of 1905 led to fall in the oil
production from the peak of
212,000 bbl/d (33,700 m3/d). The relative
calm of the early 1910s was disrupted by
World War I, when production of oil
steadily decreased to reach the lowest
level of just 65,000 bbl/d (10,300 m3/d)
by 1918 and then dropped even more
catastrophically by 1920. As a result of
civil unrest no oil export was possible, oil
storage facilities were damaged and
wells were idle. The government of
Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was
unable to restore the damage done to the
oil industry during its time in office
between 1918 and 1920.

Since 1918, more 5 mln ton of oil

accumulated in Azerbaijan. After the
occupation of Azerbaijan by Bolsheviks,
all oil supplies were directed to Russia.
All oil assets in the country were
nationalized and Azneft State company
was formed. In 1920, Alexander P.
Serebrovsky, soon to be known as the
"Soviet Rockefeller", was named head of
Azneft.[15]

In 1920, only 1800 qualified specialists

worked in the Russian oil industry of
which 1232 worked in Azerbaijan. The
industry urgently needed technology,
education and specialists. The scientific
exchange started with the US, where
visitors from Baku were seconded to oil-
fields in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma,
California, Texas, learned new methods
of well deepening and exploitation. The
Azerbaijan State Oil Academy was
established in 1920 to train oil
specialists.

By the late 1920s, production stabilized.

In 1928–29, oil production in the USSR
equaled to 13.5 mln t including
Azerbaijan's 8.7 mln t. By 1940, the total
production of Azerbaijan — 23.5 mln. t
(475,000 bbl/d (75,500 m3/d)) — was a
historical record not broken until 2005.

Advancement in drilling and logging

practices
For the first time in Russia in 1925, Baku
engineer M.M. Skvortsov constructed a
device for the automatic movement of a
chisel, which became known as the
"automatic driller". By 1930, electrical
logging tools were used in the wellbore
by Schlumberger in the Surakhany oil
field.

A new technology in drilling was

introduced in Baku: electrical aggregates
with exact control of the number of
rotations came into widespread use. By
the early 1930s, about third of well stock
was operated with pumps using gas lift.
In 1933, the first deviated well was drilled
in the Bibi-Heybat field.
Other firsts were:

1936 saw the beginning of the

industrial application of the multi-
stepped turbo drill without a reducer
which had been invented by Shumilov,
Taghiyev and others.
For the first time in the world, an oil
well was drilled by the electro-drilling
construction which was introduced by
engineers Ostrovsky, Aleksandrov and
others in Kala oil field

World War II

Between 1939 and 1940, when the Soviet

Union was supplying oil to Nazi Germany,
Britain and France planned a major
strategic bombing offensive called
Operation Pike to destroy the oil
production facilities in Baku.

During that first year of the war,

Azerbaijan produced 25.4 million tons of
oil — a record. By the Decree of the
Supreme Soviet of the USSR in February
1942, the commitment of more than 500
workers and employees of the oil
industry of Azerbaijan was recognised by
the giving of orders and medals of the
USSR.

By the end of the year, so many

engineers and oil workers had left for the
war front that positions had to be filled
by women. By the summer of 1942, more
than 25,000 women or 33% of all the
workers were working 18-hour shifts in
the oil industries. At refineries and
chemical plants, the percentage of
women was even higher, estimated at
38%. By 1944, women's participation had
grown to 60%. Veterans and retirees also
returned to the oil fields to help. It was
not uncommon for the workforce of
small towns (i.e. Kıncıvo) to completely
and rapidly convert toward dependence
on the oil industry during this period.

Hitler was determined to capture the oil

fields of the Caucasus, in particular Baku,
as it would provide much-needed oil
supplies for the German military, which
was suffering from blockades. The 1942
German offensive codenamed Case Blue
saw a determined attempt to seize the oil
fields in a large scale advance into the
area. On July 23, 1942, Hitler signed
Directive No. 45 on conducting a
strategic operation in the Caucasus,
codenamed "Edelweiss". According to
the Edelweiss plan, the main oil regions
of the Caucasus (Baku, Maikop, Grozny
oil field) were to be occupied, and the
Wehrmacht was to be supplied with the
fuel it desperately needed from these
territories. According to the Edelweiss
plan, aimed at the exclusively strategic
goals of the Germans, Baku was to be
occupied on September 25, 1942. The
German military command planned a
sudden landing of troops in Baku so that
the Soviet authorities could not destroy
the oil fields.[16] But the Axis forces were
surrounded and eventually defeated at
Stalingrad, forcing a retreat from the
region. Control of oil supply from Baku
and the Middle East played a large role in
the events of the war and the ultimate
victory of the Allies. Cutting off the oil
supply considerably weakened Japan in
the latter part of the Pacific war.[17]

Post-war period

Beginning of offshore exploration

Oil production from the existing fields
started to decline after World War II, as a
result of catastrophic over-production
and under-investment. However real
potential for new discoveries was felt to
be present offshore.

As far back as 1864, a German

mineralogist and geologist
Otto von
Abich surveyed and reported structures
present on the seabed of the Caspian.

In the early 1930s, engineers proposed

construction of offshore wells from
timber piles, connected by a causeway.
The first such well was laid in the open
sea on the depth of 6 m to the east from
filled Bibi-Heybet bay.

In 1945, oil engineers S.A. Orujev and Y.

Safarov proposed a method of tubular
collapsible constructions for offshore
bases. This construction enabled quick
installation under oil-rig at any season. In
1947, a group of oilmen developed the
trestle method of linking development
rigs and processing facilities. Average
height of trestle above sea level is 5–
7 m, and width of causeway was about
3.5 m. In 1948, construction of trestles
and other causeways started on Pirallahi
and Oil Rocks.
Wooden trestle employed at Oily Rocks

Oily Rocks Saga

One of the striking examples for offshore

oil deposit development is "Oily Rocks" —
"Neft Dashlari". It is located to the south-
east of Absheron Archipelago. In "Oily
Rocks" sea depth ranges from 10 to
25 m, though part of the oil pool reaches
60 metres depth. Oil prospecting with
geological survey, structure drilling,
seismic prospecting and preliminary
drilling started in 1945.
On August 24, 1949, the first offshore
exploration well at Neft Dashlari (Oil
Rocks) was spudded after the causeway
was built. In November, at a depth of
1,000 metres, the well N1 tested oil with
a rate of 700 bbl/d (110 m3/d). Neft
Dashlari is referred to as "The Island of
Seven Ships" because during
construction of the bridge-head, disused
ships were sunk to provide a solid base
for causeways.

Intensive development began in 1950.

Development from multiple drilling sites
connected by trestle bridges also
employed deviated holes. In 1953, to
maintain the reservoir pressure, a water
flood was applied. The field is still
delivering about 15,000 bbl/d
(2,400 m3/d) after 50 years of
exploitation.

Offshore exploration in the 1960s

and 1970s

As a result of intensive geological and

geophysical mapping during 1950–1960,
Caspian oil-and-gas bearing structures
were determined. The discoveries
included such fields as Darwin Bank,
Gum Deniz "Canub", "Gurgani-esea",
"Chilov Island", "Hazi Aslanov",
"Sangachalli-sea", "Duvanni-sea", "Bulla
Island" and Peschany.
One of the largest offshore fields,
"Sangachal-deniz", has been drilled
several times since 1959, but success
came only in 1965. "Duvanni-deniz field"
discovery well was tested in May 1963
with an output of 700 bbl/d (110 m3/d).
This field has about 700 million barrels
(110,000,000 m3) of oil reserves.

Several large oil and gas fields were

discovered and put into production
between 1968 and 1975: Bahar (1968),
Sangachali-Duvanni (1969), Bulla Deniz
(1975).

Production reached its peak in 1967 with

414,000 bbl/d (65,800 m3/d) being
produced and henceforth started to
decline as Oily Rocks development was
complete. Gas production increased
steadily through until the 1990s until the
decline of Bahar and Bulla gas fields
ensued.

As a result of modern methods of

exploration being employed, four new
multireservoir fields were opened in the
Caspian at a depth of 200 meters:
Gunashli (1979), Chirag (1985), Azeri
(1988) and Kapaz (1989). The Caspian
was covered by extensive 2D seismic
grid and 3D seismic was attempted,
however unsuccessfully. The discovery
of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field complex
was the last but significant achievement
by Azeri Soviet explorationists. The
shallow portion of Guneshli, where water
depth allowed oil development was put in
production by 1989 and now delivers
120,000 bbl/d (19,000 m3/d).

In Chirag, drilling took place via semi-

submersible drilling equipment at a
depth of 200 meters — an offshore
record for USSR. The Azeri-Chirag-
Guneshli complex contains more than 16
billion barrels (2.5 × 109 m3) of oil in
place.

"Contract of the Century"

and following years
After gaining independence Azerbaijan
started to attract badly-needed foreign
investment into the country.

The implementation of the 20 PSA

contracts (requiring $60 billion
investment) that have been concluded so
far is an integral part of Azerbaijan's oil
strategy. Azeri, Chirag and deep-water
Gunashli (ACG)-International Contract
No. 1 was signed by President Heydar
Aliyev and the participating international
companies on September 20, 1994,
ratified by Parliament on December 2,
and went into effect on December 12.
Because of its potential reserves
estimated at 6 billion barrels
(950,000,000 m3) of oil, this project is
often referred to as the "Contract of the
Century". The projected investment for
this project is $13 billion.

Oil as natural wealth of Azerbaijan depicted on an AZM 1000 banknote (2001)

A few months later in 1995, a consortium

was organized, known as the Azerbaijan
International Operating Company (AIOC).
Originally AIOC was composed of eleven
major international companies: BP (UK),
Amoco (U.S.), Lukoil (Russia), Pennzoil,
(now Devon of U.S.), UNOCAL (U.S.),
Statoil (now Equinor of Norway),
McDermott (U.S.), Ramco (Scotland),
TPAO (Turkey), Delta Nimir (now
Amerada Hess of U.S.), and SOCAR
(Azerbaijan).

Since then Exxon, now ExxonMobil (U.S.);

ITOCHU (Japan); and INPEX (Japan)
have joined the consortium and
McDermott, Ramco and LUKoil have sold
their shares. AIOC's first president was
Terry Adams (UK) of British Petroleum
(BP), the company that operates the
offshore oil platforms and the onshore
Sangachal Terminal.
However, the problem of how to deliver
the oil to European markets existed. This
problem was solved by the agreement for
the construction of the Baku–Tbilisi–
Ceyhan pipeline between Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Turkey in 1998.

The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline

officially opened on July 13, 2006 and
now transports crude oil 1,760 km
(1,090 mi) from the Azeri–Chirag–
Gunashli oil field on the Caspian Sea to
the Mediterranean. The oil is pumped
from the Sangachal Terminal near Baku,
via Tbilisi the capital of Georgia, to
Ceyhan, a port on the south-eastern
Mediterranean coast of Turkey. It is the
second-longest oil pipeline in the world.
(The longest is the Druzhba pipeline from
Russia to central Europe).

More than 1.9 million tons of Azerbaijani

oil from the port of Ceyhan were
exported to world markets in September
2017 (1 million 204 thousand 943 tons of
this volume was made by the State Oil
Fund of Azerbaijan). The volume of oil
exported from the Ceyhan port amounted
to 19 million 140 thousand 954 tons
during January–September 2016.[18]

2 million 268 thousand 672 tons of

Azerbaijani oil were transported through
the BTC main export pipeline in October
2017.[19]

Entirely, 344 133 525 tons of Azerbaijani

oil were transported via BTC pipeline
from June 2006 till November 1, 2017.[19]

The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline (green) is one of several pipelines running from Baku.

The BTC pipeline is expected to make a

major contribution to world energy
supply with its more than 1 million
barrels (160,000 m3) per day capacity.
Thanks to this project, Turkey is also
expected to earn about $300 million
annually. Around 15,000 people were
employed during pipeline construction,
which cost $3 billion.

Shah Deniz gas field, discovered in 1999,

is one of BP's largest gas field finds in
recent decades. The Shah Deniz gas
plant at Sangachal Terminal started up in
2007 and transformed Azerbaijan into a
major gas producer. Stage 1 of Shah
Deniz project is now complete and
supplies Georgia and Turkey with 8 bcma
of natural gas via the South Caucasus
Pipeline. In December 2013, Stage 2 of
the Shah Deniz Project has been
approved and is being designed. The
Shah Deniz Stage 2 hydrocarbons are
planned to be transferred to Turkey and
Europe through the TANAP and TAP
export pipelines.

In 2007, SOCAR, Nobel Oil Services and

Absheron Drilling Company established
SOCAR AQS LLC.[20] SOCAR AQS LL is a
subsidiary of the Azeri conglomerate
Neqsol Holding.[21]

On September 9, 2011, French energy

giant Total S.A. which has been operating
in Azerbaijan since 1996, announced a
major gas discovery in Absheron gas
field offshore 100 km southeast of
capital Baku.[22] The field is estimated to
have around 300 billion m³ of gas[23]
subsequently boosting Azerbaijan's gas
reserves from 2.2 to 2.5 trillion m³.[24]

Azerbaijani Government extended

“Contract of Century” until 2050 with BP-
led consortium (Azerbaijan International
Operating Company) based on the
amended contract for extension of
Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) on
development of Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli
block of oil and gas fields by 2050. The
new contract was signed on 14
September 2017[25][26][27] after a letter of
intent for future development of the field
was signed on 23 December 2016.[28]
The group chief executive of BP, Bob
Dudley stated: “Over the past 23 years
the Contract of the Century has truly
transformed Azerbaijan, energy supplies
to Europe and all of us who have worked
so hard to make it a success. Today's
contract is perhaps an even more
important milestone in the history of
Azerbaijan as it ensures that over the
next 32 years we will continue to work
together to unlock the long-term
development potential of ACG through
new investments, new technologies and
new joint efforts to maximize recovery. In
light of that, I think it is fair to call this the
Contract of the New Century.”[25]
Presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Ukraine at the opening ceremony of the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline, 12 June
2018

A memorandum of understanding was

signed between SOCAR Absheron Gas
Company and Bangladesh Petroleum
Exploration and Production Company
Limited (BAPEX) on 20 February
2018.[29][30]

On April 19, 2019, SOCAR president

Rovnag Abdullayev and BP's regional
president for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and
Turkey, Gary Jones signed a contract
cost $6 billion. The final investment
decision on the Azeri Central East (ACE)
platform, which is planned to be built on
the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block,
has been adopted at the signing
ceremony. The construction is scheduled
to start in 2019, and the completion is
scheduled for mid-2022.[31][32][33][34]

In May 2019, Poland's president Andrzej

Duda visited Azerbaijan. He said that
"gas and oil alike will flow... from
Azerbaijan also to Poland. They will flow
via Azerbaijan where the transportation
corridors that are currently under
construction constitute and will
constitute the elements" of China's Belt
and Road Initiative.[35]
In April 2020, amid the COVID-19
pandemic, Baku supported a historic
agreement between Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
and other non-OPEC oil-producing
countries to cut production in an effort to
stabilize an ailing oil market. A statement
released by Azerbaijan's energy ministry
revealed that under the new agreement
Azerbaijan would be expected to reduce
its output by 164,000 barrels per day for
the next two months. During this period,
Azerbaijan would keep average daily
crude oil production at a level not
exceeding 554,000 barrels and the
country would have to maintain daily oil
production at the level of 587,000 barrels
during the July–December period and
620,000 barrels between January 2021
and April 2022.[36]

In October 2020, Azerbaijan claimed that

the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline was
targeted during the Nagorno-Karabakh
war between Armenia and
Azerbaijan.[37][38] Armenia rejected the
accusations.[39]

The State Oil Fund of

Azerbaijan
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan was
founded at the decree of former
president Heydar Aliyev on 29 December
1999 and started to operate in 2001.[40] It
is a sovereign wealth fund where surplus
revenues of oil industry is saved.[41] The
main purposes of the Fund are to
maintain macroeconomic stability and
through decreasing dependence on oil
and gas revenues and to foster the
development of non-oil sector, to save
revenues for future generations and to
finance principal projects.[42]
Approximate amount of the Fund's
financial reserves is 34.7 billion dollars.
Fund's assets may be used for
strategically important infrastructure
projects but not for government
borrowing. The strict target asset
allocation of the Fund decreases
investment risks. Funds flow mainly from
the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan
(SOCAR).[43] The company has been
described to run in an opaque manner, as
it has complex webs of contracts and
middlemen that non-government
watchdog organizations say have led to
the enrichment of the country's ruling
elites.[2]

SOFAZ lacks transparency in its finances

and in its contracting, which has raised
questions about corruption.[44][45] Critics
have described projects funded by
SOFAZ as useless, and noted that
contracts have been awarded to
companies owned by the ruling Aliyev
family in Azerbaijan.[44]
Main projects financed by the Fund

Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline
Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway
Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline
Oguz-Gabala-Baku water supply
system
Samur-Absheron irrigation system

See also
Azerbaijan
portal
Energy
portal

Pipelines in Azerbaijan
Energy in Azerbaijan
Absheron gas field
Notes
1. SOCAR, Azerbaijan's oil and gas
production (http://socar.az/socar/az/eco
nomics-and-statistics/economics-and-sta
tistics/gas-production)

2. Altstadt, Audrey L. (2017). Frustrated

Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=RgbRDg
AAQBAJ) . Columbia University Press.
pp. 114–120. ISBN 978-0-231-80141-6.

3. Altstadt, Audrey L. (1992). The Azerbaijani

Turks (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=sZVN2MwWZVAC&q=mirzoev+baku&p
g=PA21) (1. print. ed.). Stanford, Ca:
Hoover Inst. Press. p. 21.
ISBN 9780817991821. Retrieved
23 November 2012.
4. Daintith, Terence (2010). Finders
keepers?: how the law of capture shaped
the world oil industry (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=g1G52SwFjeQC&q=mirz
oev+baku&pg=PA157) (1. publ. ed.).
Washington, DC: RFF Press. p. 157.
ISBN 9781933115849. Retrieved
23 November 2012.
5. "As far back as 1877 Charles Marvin
wrote that there was irrefutable proof that
2500 years ago oil was exported from the
Apsheron peninsula, where Baku is
located, to Iran, Iraq, India and other
countries. This was reported by such well
known historians and travelers as
Prisk of
Pontus (5th century), Abu-Istakhri (8th
century), Ahmed Balazuri (9th century),
Masudi (10th century), Marco Polo (13th–
14th centuries) and O'Learius (17th
century)." AZERBAIJANI OIL: GLIMPSES
OF A LONG HISTORY, SABIT BAGIROV

6. The Travels of Marco Polo. ISBN 978-0-

14-044057-7

7. Smil, Vaclav (2017). Energy and

Civilization: A History. Cambridge: The
MIT Press. p. 246. ISBN 9780262035774.
 8. Ian Cummins, John Beasant. Shell shock:
the secrets and spin of an oil giant.
Mainstream, 2005. ISBN 184018941X,
9781840189414, p. 50

9. Д. А. Катренко. Черное золото. Научно-

популярная библиотека (Москва, Гос.
изд-во технико-теорет. лит-ры) вып. 52,
1953, p.8

10. Blau, Eve; Rupnik, Ivan (2019). Baku: Oil

and Urbanism. Park Books. pp. 34–43.
ISBN 9783038600763.
11. Suny, Ronald Grigor. "Eastern Armenians
Under Tsarist Rule" in The Armenian
People From Ancient to Modern Times,
Volume II: Foreign Dominion to
Statehood: The Fifteenth Century to the
Twentieth Century (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=s2ByErk19DAC&pg=PA12
5)

12. Vassiliou, M.S. (2009). Historical

dictionary of the petroleum industry (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=vArc08D
O9ykC) . Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.
pp. 226–7. ISBN 978-0810862883.

13. Mir-Babayev
14. Mir-Babayev 16
15. "Серебровский Александр Павлович"
(http://www.mining-enc.ru/s/serebrovski
j/) .
16. Balamirza Mammadli. Baku oil in the
military-strategic plans of Germany during
the Second World War (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20220110104043/https://aem.
az/uploads/files/2022-01/1641576233_q
edim-diyar-bek-oblojka.pdf) //
Proceedings of the I International
Conference on the Foundations of the
Humanities and Social Sciences
(December 24, 2021). Baku, 2021. pp. 87-
88.
17. Baku: City that Oil Built (http://azer.com/ai
web/categories/magazine/ai102_folder/1
02_articles/102_overview_alakbarov.htm
l) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/
20101213083150/http://azer.com/aiweb/
categories/magazine/ai102_folder/102_a
rticles/102_overview_alakbarov.html)
December 13, 2010, at the Wayback
Machine

18. "Xəbərlər arxivi · SOCAR" (http://www.soc

ar.az/socar/az/news-and-media/news-arc
hives/news-archives/id/11093) .
www.socar.az. Retrieved 2018-03-12.

19. "22,6 mln tons Azerbaijani oil transported

via BTC in 2017" (https://report.az/en/ene
rgy/22-6-mln-tons-azerbaijani-oil-transport
ed-via-btc-in-2017) . Report News
Agency. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
20. "SOCAR AQS може долучитися до
видобутку на морському шельфі
України | Українська Енергетика" (http
s://ua-energy.org/uk/posts/socar-aqs-mo
zhe-doluchytysia-do-vydobutku-na-morsk
omu-shelfi-ukrainy) . ua-energy.org (in
Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-03-15.

21. "Halliburton Teams Up With Nobel in

Azerbaijan" (https://www.energyintel.co
m/0000017b-a7d9-de4c-a17b-e7dbe0cd
0000) . Energy Intelligence. 2020-02-11.
Retrieved 2022-03-15.

22. Press Release (2011-09-09). "Azerbaijan:

Total makes a major gas discovery in the
Caspian Sea" (http://www.total.com/en/a
bout-total/news/news-940500.html&idAct
u=2636) . Total S.A. Retrieved
2011-09-15.
23. Zulfugar Agayev (2011-09-09). "Total
Makes 'Major' Natural-Gas Discovery in
Caspian Sea Off Azerbaijan" (https://www.
bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/total-c
laims-major-gas-discovery-in-azeri-caspia
n-sea-1-.html) . Bloomberg. Retrieved
2011-09-15.

24. "Total's discovery boosts Azerbaijan's gas

reserves" (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0120928112106/http://af.reuters.com/art
icle/energyOilNews/idAFL5E7KC2F3201
10912) . Reuters. 2011-09-12. Archived
from the original (https://af.reuters.com/a
rticle/energyOilNews/idAFL5E7KC2F3201
10912) on 2012-09-28. Retrieved
2011-09-15.
25. "The Azerbaijan government and co-
venturers sign amended and restated
Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli PSA |
Press releases | Media | BP" (http://www.b
p.com/en/global/corporate/media/press-
releases/the-azerbaijan-government-and-
co-venturers-sign-amended-and-restated-
azeri-chirag-deepwater-gunashli-psa.htm
l) . bp.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.

26. "Resource Global Network | BP and

partners sign Azerbaijan oil field
extension deal" (http://resourceglobalnet
work.com/2017/09/14/bp-and-partners-si
gn-azerbaijan-oil-field-extension-deal/) .
resourceglobalnetwork.com. Retrieved
2017-09-20.
27. "BP-led group signs Azerbaijan oilfield
extension deal" (https://www.reuters.co
m/article/bp-azerbaijan-agreement/bp-led
-group-signs-azerbaijan-oilfield-extension-
deal-idUSL5N1LS3R0) . Reuters. 2017-09-
14. Retrieved 2017-09-20.

28. "SOCAR və ABƏŞ AÇG yatağının 2050-ci

ilədək gələcək işlənməsinə dair
razılaşmanın prinsiplərini imzaladılar |
Press relizlər | Xəbərlər | BP Xəzər" (http://
www.bp.com/az_az/caspian/press/pressr
eleases/SOCAR-BP-sign-principles-of-agr
eement.html) . bp.com (in Azerbaijani).
Retrieved 2017-09-20.
29. "SOCAR AQŞ, Bangladeshi BAPEX sign
Memorandum of Understanding" (https://
www.azernews.az/oil_and_gas/127557.h
tml) . AzerNews.az. 2018-02-21.
Retrieved 2018-03-12.

30. "SOCAR AQS and Bangladesh Bapex sign

MoU" (https://www.pipelineoilandgasnew
s.com/regionalinternational-news/interna
tional-news/2018/february/socar-aqs-and
-bangladesh-bapex-sign-mou) .
www.pipelineoilandgasnews.com.
Retrieved 2018-03-12.
31. Reuters (2019-04-19). "BP, SOCAR Sign
Deal to Build New Azeri Oil Exploration
Platform" (https://www.nytimes.com/reut
ers/2019/04/19/business/19reuters-bp-a
zerbaijan-acg.html) . The New York
Times. ISSN 0362-4331 (https://www.worl
dcat.org/issn/0362-4331) . Retrieved
2019-04-24. {{cite news}}: |last=
has generic name (help)

32. "BP, SOCAR sign deal to build new Azeri

oil exploration platform" (https://www.reut
ers.com/article/us-bp-azerbaijan-acg-idU
SKCN1RV0G0) . Reuters. 2019-04-19.
Retrieved 2019-04-24.
33. Foy, Henry; Raval, Aniji (2019-04-19). "BP
leads $6bn of fresh investment in Azeri oil
project" (https://www.ft.com/content/664
7ece0-6291-11e9-a27a-fdd51850994c) .
Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-04-24.

34. "BP and SOCAR sign new Azeri oil deal" (h

ttp://www.arabnews.com/node/1485046/
business-economy) . Arab News. 2019-
04-19. Retrieved 2019-04-24.

35. "I hope gas and oil will flow from

Azerbaijan to Poland: President Duda" (htt
ps://polandin.com/42899719/i-hope-gas-
and-oil-will-flow-from-azerbaijan-to-poland
-president-duda) . Poland In. 1 June 2019.
36. Azerbaijan Backs OPEC+ Deal To Cut Oil
Production (https://caspiannews.com/ne
ws-detail/azerbaijan-backs-opec-deal-to-c
ut-oil-production-2020-4-12-0/) , Caspian
News, 12 April 2020

37. "Armenia reportedly attacks Baku-Tbilisi-

Ceyhan pipeline" (https://www.aa.com.tr/
en/azerbaijan-front-line/armenia-reportedl
y-attacks-baku-tbilisi-ceyhan-pipeline/19
98053) . Anadolu Agency. 6 October
2020.

38. "Azerbaijan warns over pipelines as

Nagorno-Karabakh tensions rise" (https://
www.euractiv.com/section/azerbaijan/ne
ws/azerbaijan-warns-over-pipelines-as-na
gorno-karabakh-tensions-rise/) .
EURACTIV. 15 October 2020.
39. "Azerbaijan Says Pipeline Targeted In
Fighting; Armenia Rejects Accusation" (htt
ps://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-says-pipel
ine-targeted-in-fighting-armenia-rejects-ac
cusation/30879737.html) . Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty. 7 October 2020.

40. "ARDNF - Azərbaycan Respublikası Dövlət

Neft Fondu - General information" (http://
www.oilfund.az/en_US/about_found/histo
ry/uemumi-melumat.asp) .
www.oilfund.az. Retrieved 2017-08-15.

41. Staff, Investopedia (2010-05-30). "State

Oil Fund (Azerbaijan)" (http://www.investo
pedia.com/terms/s/state-oil-fund.asp) .
Investopedia. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
42. "Resource Governance report" (https://res
ourcegovernance.org/sites/default/files/
NRF_Azerbaijan_September2013.pdf)
(PDF).

43. "Resource Governance report" (https://res

ourcegovernance.org/sites/default/files/
NRF_Azerbaijan_September2013.pdf)
(PDF).

44. Altstadt, Audrey L. (2017). Frustrated

Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=RgbRDg
AAQBAJ) . Columbia University Press.
ISBN 978-0-231-80141-6.
45. Aslanli, Kenan (2015). "Fiscal
sustainability and the State Oil Fund in
Azerbaijan" (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.
euras.2015.03.004) . Journal of Eurasian
Studies. 6 (2): 114–121.
doi:10.1016/j.euras.2015.03.004 (https://
doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.euras.2015.03.004)
. ISSN 1879-3665 (https://www.worldcat.o
rg/issn/1879-3665) .

Further reading
1. Acts collected by the Caucasian
Archaeographic Commission; Tiflis,
1884, v.IX, p. 650-651.
2. Azerbaijan International Sherman
Oaks, CA (U.S.), 1993–2003. Search
at AZER.com.
 3. Azerbaijan Oil Industry (magazine).
Baku, 1995–2002.
4. Oil Industry (magazine). Moscow,
1995–2002.
5. Territory of Neftegas (magazine).
Moscow, 2001–2002.

Books

1. Balayev S.G. Oil of the Country of

Eternal Fire. Baku: Azernashir
Publishing House, 1969, 160 p.
2. Lisichkin S.M. Outstanding People
of Native Oil Science and
Technique. Moscow: Nedra
Publishing House, 1967.
 3. Mir-Babayev M.F. Concise history of
Azerbaijani oil. Baku: Azerneshr,
2007, 288 p.
4. Vassiliou, Marius. Historical
Dictionary of Petroleum Industry;
2nd edition. USA, Lanham MD:
Rowman and Littlefield-Scarecrow
Press, 2018, 593 p.
5. Marius Vassiliou, Miryusif
Mirbabayev. US and Azerbaijani oil
in the Nineteenth Century: Two
Titans. - USA, Lexington Books
Publisher, 2022. - 259 p.

Articles
1. Mir-Babayev M.F. Azerbaijan's Oil
History: A Chronology Leading Up to
the Soviet Era Part 1 - "Azerbaijan
International" Magazine, Sherman
Oaks, CA (US) AI 10.2 (Summer
2002), p. 34–41. Search at
AZER.com
2. Mir-Babayev M.F. Azerbaijan's Oil
History: Brief Oil Chronology since
1920 Part 2 - "Azerbaijan
International" Magazine, Sherman
Oaks, CA (US) AI 10.2 (Summer
2002), p. 34–41. Search at
AZER.com
3. Bati Alum. The Legal Status of
Production Sharing Agreements in
 Azerbaijan - "Journal of Energy &
Natural Resources Law", V. 21, No.
2, 2003, p. 153–167
4. Mir-Babayev M.F. Oil Rocks: the first
city on the Caspian Sea –
“Reservoir”, Canada, 2012, V. 39,
Issue 4, April, p. 33-36.
5. Mir-Babayev M.F. Establishment of
the first oil institute in
Transcaucasian - "Reservoir",
Canada, 2011, V. 38, Issue 8,
September, p. 31–37.
6. Mir-Babayev M.F. The role of
Azerbaijan in the world's oil industry
- "Oil-Industry History", USA, 2011, V.
12, No 1, p. 109-123.
 7. Mir-Babayev M.F. A brief history of
oil and gas well drilling – “Visions of
Azerbaijan”, 2012, January–
February, p. 62-65.
8. Mir-Babayev M.F., Atabeyli B. The
Unknown Nobel Prize in Baku - "Oil-
Industry History", USA, 2013, V. 14,
No 1, p. 117-124.
9. Mir-Babayev M.F. Brief history of the
first drilled oil well; and the people
involved - "Oil-Industry History", USA,
2017, V. 18, No 1, p. 25-34.
10. Wysatta, Mike. History of Azerbaijan
oil chronicle further in second book:
Reservoir Solutions, (USA-Canada),
 2017, April–June, v.20, No. 2, p. 10-
12.
11. Mir-Babayev M.F. The Rothschild
pages of Azerbaijan's oil history
(Marking the 135th anniversary of
the Caspian-Black Sea oil industry
and trade company) – “Visions of
Azerbaijan”, 2018, Spring, p. 34-38.

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media
related to Petroleum production in
Azerbaijan.

Caspian Pipeline Controversy (https://

web.archive.org/web/2016010105115
9/https://repository.library.georgetow
n.edu/handle/10822/552643) from
the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs
Digital Archives (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20160115205405/https://repos
itory.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10
822/552494)
Free Political Journal (https://web.arch
ive.org/web/20071215013831/http://
www.vetennamine.com/)
Contract of the Century – 15 years (htt
p://www.preslib.az/eres1.html?f2)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20190227170711/http://www.presli
b.az/eres1.html?f2) 2019-02-27 at the
Wayback Machine
Interactive map of the oil and gas
infrastructure in Azerbaijan (http://ww
 w.oilandgasinfrastructure.com/home/
oilandgasasia/azerbaijan)
[1] (http://www.petroleumworld.com/la
gniappe18043001.htm)

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