Azerbaijan accounts for over half of bp government payments

Azerbaijan accounted for 54% over BP's $19.725bn in global payments to the government in 2021, the energy major reported on June 24, in compliance with UK regulations, Report informs.

The payment disclosure covers production entitlements, taxes, royalties, fees, bonuses, and infrastructure improvements. BP's payments to the Azeri government amounted to $10.59bn, of which production entitlements accounted for $9.96bn.

BP also paid $171.7mn in taxes, $2.8mn in fees, and $451mn in bonuses in the country.

The company serves as operator of the country's flagship Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil project, the Shah Deniz gas field, and has interests in the oil and gas pipelines that carry their production to market. It is also involved in various exploration projects.

The UAE accounted for a further $3.23bn of BP's government payments, while Oman received $1.68bn, Angola $1.51bn, and the US $1.07bn. The UK received only $127mn.

At the end of last year, BP announced an increase in its share in the development of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The deal was reached in early 2022. As a result, BP acquired a 1.16% stake in Petronas for $ 168 million. Thus, BP's share in the project increased to 29.99%. Thus, he kept the operator of the project.

In 2010, BP acquired an additional stake in Devon Energy from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field block. At that time, the British company increased its stake in the project by 3.29% to 37.43%.

In addition, BP is involved in other oil and gas production contracts in Azerbaijan. At the same time, the company is the operator of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export Pipeline. It has a 25% stake in the Inam oil and gas field development project, a 15% stake in the Araz-Alov-Sharq project, and a 30.37% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project.

BP's share in the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline project is 20%, in the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline project - 12%, and in the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) project - 28.8%.