Shaban: SOCAR-"Rosneft" agreement is beneficial to both parties

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is satisfied with the cooperation agreements signed on August 12 with the Russian "Rosneft". Independent experts agree that it is a good foundation for a long-term partnership, but so far – just a declaration of intent.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 13 the Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Azerbaijan with a large governmental delegation that comprised the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry for Emergencies and the Ministry of Defence, of a number of other state agencies, and top managers of the oil companies "Rosneft" and "LUKoil". Following the talks, six agreements were signed.

The above agreement will allow the companies to expand the geography of their activities, gain access to new markets and resources, and optimize shipments of oil and oil products through the joint use of the existing infrastructure, said Rovnag Abdullaev, President of the SOCAR.

The second agreement provides for the implementation of the spot-based mutual trade in oil supplies, a source from the SOCAR told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Ilham Shaban, the head of the Centre for Oil Researches "Caspian Barrel", in exchange for Russian oil deliveries to the oil refinery in Baku, the SOCAR can ship appropriate amounts of high-quality Azerbaijani oil to the "Rosneft" in Supsa (the Georgia's Black Sea port) and Ceyhan (the Turkey's Mediterranean Sea port).

Besides, he added, the parties can cooperate in oil exploration and extraction in third countries.