AZERBAIJAN RATIFIES ANOTHER BIG OIL CONTRACT.

Azerbaijan’s parliament, the Milli Majlis, yesterday ratified the country’s contract with an international consortium to develop the Dan Ulduzu and Ashrafi offshore oil fields. The consortium is comprised of the U.S. companies AMOCO and UNOCAL, with a 30 percent and a 25.5 percent stake, respectively; Japan’s Itohu with 20 percent; Saudi Arabia’s Delta with 4.5 percent; and Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company with 20 percent. The projected investment amounts to nearly $2 billion.

The two fields, which range in depths from 60 to 160 meters underwater, are estimated to contain at least 150 million tons of oil. The contract runs for a term of 25 years, with commercial production due to begin in the year 2003 and full capacity to be attained in 2008 at 7 to 9 million tons annually. The contract is Azerbaijan’s fourth with international oil consortiums. (Petroleum Information Agency, Turan, February 25)

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