Princely aims for the Caspian
Yashar Latifov, vice president for field development at Azerbaijan’s Socar, outlines the firm’s ambitious upstream development plans
Azerbaijan celebrated in September the 25th anniversary of the ‘contract of the century’—the landmark Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) production sharing agreement signed with 11 international oil companies (IOCs) in 1994. ACG has been transformative for Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector. With $36bn invested by the ACG partners over the years, it helped re-establish one of the world’s oldest hydrocarbons provinces as a major energy supplier, producing more than 3.6bn bl of oil thus far. Twenty-five years on, Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company Socar’s exploration and production challenge has evolved. While ACG’s contract period has been extended to 2049, Yashar Latifov tells Petroleum Economist
Also in this section
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future
