Azerbaijan Oil Contracts Inam An Exploration, Development and Production Sharing Agreement (EDPSA) for the Inam offshore field was signed in London on July 21, 1998 in the presence of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Azerbaijan's President Heydar Aliyev, who was on an official visit to Great Britain. Partners in the contract include BP (25%), Monument Resources (Caspian) Ltd (12.5%), Central Fuel Caspian Sea Ltd (12.5%) and SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) (50%). BP is the operator during the exploration phase. The Project Manager, Rashid Javanshir, is the first Azeri to lead an international investor-owned consortium. Under the agreement, the partners
will collect 3-D seismic data on the structure and drill at least
two wells during the initial exploration phase of the project.
This stage of work will last for three years and may be extended
for an additional two years. If the surveys uncover commercially
exploitable quantities of crude oil, the structure may then be
developed over a 25-year period which may be extended for another
five years. Signed July 21, 1998 Map: Click to enlarge Monument Resources (Caspian)
Ltd is a subsidiary of Monument Oil & Gas, an independent
British oil company. Central Fuel Caspian Sea Ltd. is a subsidiary
of Moscow-based Russian Central Fuel Company (RCFC). Russian
oil companies LUKoil and Transneft are entitled to participate
in the management of RCFC, but are not involved in the Inam project
at this time. BP |