Following the completion of transaction between Norwegian Oil and Gas company Statoil and Malaysian Oil and Gas company Petronas regarding the sale of Statoil’s 15.5% participating interest in the Shah Deniz production sharing agreement, 15.5% in the South Caucasus Pipeline Company (SCPC), and 12.4% share in the Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company (AGSC) and in accordance with the relevant agreements signed on December 17, 2013 State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) starting from May 1, 2015 has assumed operatorship of AGSC and commercial operatorship of SCPC.President of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev said the transfer of operatorship of AGSC and commercial operatorship of SCPC to SOCAR is a very important milestone in the process of further localization of PSA projects activities in Azerbaijan.
It is a clear recognition by global leading energy companies of tremendous achievements, which SOCAR has made possible in developing its corporate technical and commercial capabilities as well as human resources up to the world standards. SOCAR President extended gratitude to Statoil for its excellent performance as Operator of AGSC and SCPC in the last 12 years and valuable cooperation with SOCAR to make this transfer of Operatorship happen without any disruption to business within the agreed timeframe.
AGSC is a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, as a limited liability company, with its head office located in Baku, Azerbaijan. AGSC was established by Shah Deniz PSA partners and SOCAR as a special legal entity to sell gas from Shah Deniz Stage 1 and Stage 2 in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey as well as handle future gas sales to European Union through the Southern Gas Corridor.
SCPC is a company owned by SCP Consortium, established for the construction and operation of the whole pipeline and for transportation of natural gas from the Shah Deniz field and from other sources in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Caspian Sea for markets in Turkey and Europe.
* The pipeline starts from the Sangachal terminal near Baku. The length of the pipeline is 691km, with 443 km in Azerbaijan and 248 km in Georgia. After Final Investments Decision in December 17, 2013, the Shareholders have launched the Expansion of the pipeline system which will increase the annual transportation up to 25 bcm.