Minister: Russian companies invested $4.9B in Azerbaijan's oil, gas sector

Azerbaijan is one of the countries with the most favorable investment conditions. The government is constantly working to increase the country's investment attractiveness. Thanks to these measures, the World Bank included Azerbaijan in the top 20 reformers in the Doing Business 2020 report, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov told Russia's Neftegazovaya Vertikal magazine, Report informs.

According to the minister, Azerbaijan's oil and gas sector, which has large hydrocarbon reserves, has always been attractive for foreign investment.

"From 2000 to 2020, $109.5 billion was invested in Azerbaijan's oil and gas sector, of which 79.5% was foreign investment. As for Russian investments, first of all, thanks to the efforts of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia, political and economic relations between the two countries are constantly developing and today have reached the level of strategic cooperation," he said.

The minister said that this factor opens great opportunities for cooperation in all economic segments, including the oil and gas sector: "In 2014, the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Russian Federation signed the Agreement on Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments, which, in turn, contributes to the development of the economy in bilateral cooperation."

According to Shahbazov, it is not surprising that Azerbaijan and Russia have good dynamics in mutual investments: "Today, more than a thousand Russian companies operate in Azerbaijan. The total volume of investments of Russian companies in the oil and gas sector of Azerbaijan as of April 1, 2021, amounted to $4.9 billion."

The minister noted that Lukoil is one of the first companies to start operating in Azerbaijan's oil and gas sector: "The company started in the early 1990s with a project on the development of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block of fields. The company is also involved in the development of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field, one of the most significant projects in the world. Besides, it has a 10% stake in the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline project, which transports natural gas to Europe. Lukoil also has its own network of filling stations in Azerbaijan."

As for future cooperation with the Russian company, Shahbazov said that on January 21, 2021, the governments of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on joint exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources in the "Dostlug" field in the Caspian Sea. Lukoil intends to participate in the development of the field as an operator."