Ashraf AboArafe
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Chair of the Board of bp Helge Lund. The meeting was attended by bp Executive Vice President for Production and Operations Gordon Birrell and former Chief Executive Officer of the company Lord John Phillip Browne, who participated in the signing of the “Contract of the Century” on September 20, 1994.
During the conversation, the head of state noted the importance of September 20, the day of the signing of the “Contract of the Century” emphasizing that this is a very important page in the history of development of Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev hailed the participation of the bp top management, as well as Lord John Phillip Browne, who participated in signing of the historical contract and was the bp head for many years, in this meeting on Oilmen’s Day, which is celebrated as a professional holiday of oil workers in Azerbaijan, and the day of the signing of the “Contract of the Century”. He also touched upon the history of the long-term, close, fruitful and strategic cooperation between Azerbaijan and the company. The head of state described this as a good example of cooperation between investors and investment receipient, noting that this cooperation is based on mutual trust, confidence and benefit.
President Ilham Aliyev emphasized the role of the “Contract of the Century” signed in 1994 in laying the foundation for the economic development in the country during the difficult and historically challenging period for Azerbaijan.
Underlining the special importance of the oil and gas sector in the socio-economic achievements of Azerbaijan, the head of state highlighted regional and global projects implemented and planned with the initiative and participation of Azerbaijan.
Former bp CEO, Lord John Phillip Browne recalled that during the difficult period when the “Contract of the Century” was signed, it was thanks to the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev’s leadership that Azerbaijan had overcome the existing risks for investment and, as a result, this important contract was signed. The representatives of the company underscored that the “Contract of the Century” was signed thanks to the determined and skillful policy of the National Leader in the difficult times of Azerbaijan. They also touched upon the role of this contract in the development of Azerbaijan’s energy resource.
They noted that the infrastructure created during Great Leader Heydar Aliyev’s leadership period in the country made a great contribution to development of oil and gas fields of Azerbaijan and provided for implementation of large-scale projects within short span of time. They also stressed that engineering, environmental protection and other standards introduced in the projects implemented in Azerbaijan are up to or even beyond the standards applied in other BP operations around the world. It came to fruition thanks to the rich human capital in the oil and gas sector in Azerbaijan.
The bp delegation highlighted Azerbaijan as the country with the world’s oldest oil and gas industry, and touched upon Azerbaijan’s strategic vision and cooperation with international energy companies to bring this industry in line with modern standards.
During the conversation, bp company’s interest in future oil and gas and energy projects in Azerbaijan was underlined with discussions held on new investment opportunities. Given the global energy transition, the bp representatives reiterated the company’s keenness on cooperation with its partners in Azerbaijan including SOCAR in implementation of renewable energy projects. The meeting also saw discussions on the prospects for cooperation. Then, Lord John Phillip Browne presented his memorable photograph with the Great Leader to the head of state.
