BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 26. As part of the Second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum held today in Baku SOCAR signed a number of documents with various companies.

This was reflected in the statement published by SOCAR.

Under the Production Sharing Agreement for the exploration, development and production of unconventional hydrocarbon resources in the Middle Kura Basin of the Republic of Azerbaijan, signed between SOCAR and ExxonMobil, the participating interests in the contract area will be held through the respective subsidiaries, with SOCAR holding 50% and ExxonMobil holding 50%. ExxonMobil will serve as the operator of the project.

At the ceremony, SOCAR, XRG and TotalEnergies exchanged the Final Investment Decision document on the full-field development of the Absheron gas-condensate field. As part of the full-field development, the drilling of additional wells and the development of new processing infrastructure will enable the efficient development of the field’s resource potential and bring the overall recovery factor to a level comparable with leading international gas projects.

Under the Framework Agreement on strategic partnership between SOCAR and Comstock Resources, the parties will cooperate to explore opportunities for natural gas attributable to Comstock’s interest and produced from the Haynesville shale assets to be liquefied and marketed by SOCAR in international markets outside the United States. The companies will focus on identifying potential buyers, evaluating pricing mechanisms, as well as logistics and regulatory matters related to such international sales arrangements.

The Memorandum of Understanding between SOCAR and Apollo on a strategic partnership for investment in upstream development and production projects provides for the evaluation and structuring of potential investments by Apollo-managed funds in SOCAR’s interests in upstream development and production projects, the establishment of joint working groups for this purpose, the conduct of legal, financial and technical due diligence, and the preparation of definitive agreements.

The Memorandum of Understanding between SOCAR and Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (SEFE) on cooperation in natural gas, LNG, energy security, energy infrastructure development and upstream projects envisages expanding cooperation between the parties in natural gas and LNG supply, the joint development of energy infrastructure projects, investments in upstream projects, as well as strengthening energy security.

The Strategic Cooperation Agreement between SOCAR and VNG establishes a framework for future cooperation between the companies. The document envisages a long-term partnership in natural gas, as well as related infrastructure and regulatory matters. The parties will also cooperate on the energy transition, as well as scientific and technical matters related to hydrogen and its derivatives.

Under the agreement on the deployment of the Oracle Alloy platform in Azerbaijan, Caspian Mind AI will become an Oracle Alloy operator in the country, enabling the company to provide sovereign Oracle cloud infrastructure services through locally operated cloud infrastructure. Caspian Mind AI will manage customer relationships, sales processes and certain aspects of customer support while leveraging Oracle’s cloud technologies and operational expertise.

As part of the event, SOCAR and Italy’s Eni S.p.A. also exchanged a Protocol on the Completion of the Transaction for the Acquisition of a 10% Ownership Interest in the Baleine Oil and Gas Field Development Project in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. Following completion of the transaction, the participating interests in the Baleine project are held by Eni at 37.25%, Vitol at 30%, Petroci at 22.75% and SOCAR at 10%. In addition to marking SOCAR’s entry into Africa’s upstream sector, the acquisition will contribute to the company’s long-term strategy of expanding its global upstream operations.