Official Baku Invites British Investments
Baku on Thursday opened the Azerbaijani-British oil and gas partnership forum with participation of SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev and President of the corporation BP in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, Gordon Birrell.
Mainly the forum focused on the field of petroleum engineering cooperation, which involves the parties - Azerbaijan is interested in investments and technologies, and Britain in the placement of their orders and investments abroad.
"We offer British companies to implement joint projects with Azerbaijani companies for petroleum engineering in order to further expand local production in the oil and gas industry, said Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry of Azerbaijan Sahil Babayev.
The forum is attended by representatives of 100 companies from both sides.
Britain ranks first in overall investments in Azerbaijan, and in investments in the oil and gas sector it is in the second place. The total volume of British investments amounted to $ 21 billion, of which non-oil - $ 1.3 billion.
In the early 2000s, working in Azerbaijan in the oil sector, British companies offered official Baku to create conditions for the reinvestment of the British capital, earned in the Caspian Sea, in the non-oil sectors. At the same time, considering the tax and customs spheres imperfect, the British offered to protect their investments by special laws, as in the example of the oil contract Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli. The idea was advocated by the company Remco. However, their proposals did not find understanding among senior management in Azerbaijan. Time has been lost. -0-
Economics
-
Azerbaijan's financial standing continues to strengthen as the country's foreign currency reserves have surged to $71 billion as of January 1, 2025, according to the Ministry of Finance. This figure, which includes reserves held by the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) and the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), far exceeds the nation's external debt, which stands at a fraction of its reserves, specifically nearly 14 times less. This robust reserve position reflects Azerbaijan's fiscal stability and the government’s strategic economic management.
-
According to operational data from the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, in January 2025, the country produced 2.3 million tons of oil, including condensate, and 3.9 billion cubic meters of gas.
-
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has opened a representative office in Albania and is set to launch a specific project this year, the Albanian company "Albgaz" announced.
-
"Azerbaijan is currently among 54 middle-income countries," said Shahmar Movsumov, head of the Economic Affairs and Innovative Development Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, during the presentation of the World Bank’s World Development Report 2024 in Baku on February 10.
Leave a review