The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) received approximately $4.604 billion in revenues from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block of fields in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea in the first nine months of 2024, Report informs, citing the fund.
Compared to the corresponding period in 2023, this is a decrease of 12.1% or $630.3 million.
Meanwhile, the figure stood at $5.234 billion in the initial nine months of 2023.
The ACG block, located in the Caspian Sea, is one of Azerbaijan's most important oil fields. It consists of several platforms, each contributing to the overall production. The Chirag platform averaged 22,000 barrels per day (b/d), Central Azeri produced 96,000 b/d, West Azeri extracted 77,000 b/d, East Azeri delivered 52,000 b/d, Deepwater Gunashli contributed 57,000 b/d, West Chirag produced 29,000 b/d, and Central East Azeri added 3,000 b/d.
The original contract for the development of the Azeri, Chirag, and deepwater portion of the Gunashli fields was signed in 1994, with an expiration date set for 2024. However, in September 2017, a new contract was inked, extending the project's lifespan until 2050.
The current shareholding structure of the ACG project includes BP plc (30.37%), the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) (25%), MOL (9.57%), Inpex Corp. (9.31%), Equinor (7.27%), ExxonMobil (6.79%), TPAO (5.73%), ITOCHU Oil (3.65%), and ONGC Videsh (2.31%).