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
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
3 March 2026
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in US–Israeli strikes marks the most serious escalation in the region in decades and a bigger potential threat to the oil market than the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis
2 March 2026
A potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the escalating US-Iran conflict risks disrupting Qatari LNG exports that underpin global gas markets, exposing Asia and other markets to sharp price spikes, cargo shortages and renewed reliance on dirtier fuels
