SOCAR plans program to prevent oil leaks from old Caspian wells

Azerbaijan's State Oil Company (SOCAR) plans to develop a special program to prevent oil leaks from old wells in the Caspian Sea, said SOCAR Vice President Afghan Isayev at the Baku Climate Action Week 2026 (BCAW 2026), Report informs.

He described oil spills as one of the most serious environmental problems facing the Caspian Sea.

"As a legacy of the Soviet era, we have tens of thousands of such wells. We assume that oil and gas leaks are occurring from some of them. This issue is extremely complicated from a commercial perspective. Without support from multilateral development banks (MDBs), it is practically impossible to implement," Isayev said.

Isayev said the company has held talks with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). SOCAR has also approached other CIS countries with a proposal to develop a relevant program, including a research and development (R&D) component.

"They have agreed to support SOCAR in this process," the vice president added.