Azerbaijan's state-owned oil company Socar and Malaysian Petronas have signed a memorandum of understanding on the joint development of the Goshadash oil block in the Caspian Sea, Rigzone reported on September 19.
Petronas has maintained its interests abroad in Africa and Azerbaijan even as it has moved to cut thousands of jobs to cope with low oil prices. In Azerbaijan, the Malaysian oil giant took over Statoil's share in the Shah Deniz II gas project in 2014, paying $2.25bn for a 15.5% share in the project.
Meanwhile, Socar's president Rovnag Abdullayev announced that 80% of the offshore works on Shah Deniz II had been completed, according to an article in Azerbaijan's official state newspaper.
Shah Deniz II is Azerbaijan's largest investment. The upstream part of the project requires investments worth $25bn, while a network of interrelated pipelines costing over $20bn will connect the offshore gas reserves to Europe. Works on the pipelines are also ongoing; the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) is halfway completed, while the ground-breaking for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline took place in May. In addition, Azerbaijan is expanding a gas pipeline connecting it to Georgia and Turkey's north-eastern border.
Don’t just follow the news—understand it.
The IntelliNews PRO service includes access to reports, exclusive market data, and more news that decision-makers care about. Stay ahead of the market with IntelliNews PRO.
Sign Up NowRelated Articles
Iran industry minister says central bank should not interfere in trade policy
Iran's industry minister has said the central bank should be stripped of its role in trade policy, blaming foreign exchange interventions for constraining exporters and creating challenges for ... more
Saudi Arabia convenes emergency Arab-Islamic ministerial talks in Riyadh as Gulf War enters third week
Saudi Arabia is hosting an emergency meeting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers in Riyadh on March 18, as the US-Israeli war against Iran enters its 19th day with no sign of a ceasefire, the ... more
More than 2,000 evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan
Dutch and Algerian embassy staff have been evacuated from Iran into Azerbaijan through the Astara border crossing on March 10, as the total number of people evacuated via the route since the start of ... more