BAKU, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR and British oil major BP on Thursday renewed their deal on development of Azerbaijan's biggest oilfield Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) until 2050, local TREND News Agency reported.
The new contract is now subject to ratification by Azerbaijan's Parliament.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev stressed the importance of the new deal for his country. "The agreement is more beneficial for Azerbaijan. Although the agreement signed in 1994 also fully met our interests, this time it will be signed on better terms," he said.
"After the signing of the agreement, Azerbaijan will receive 3.6 billion U.S. dollars in bonus from foreign investors," Aliyev added.
According to the president, SOCAR's share in the ACG will increase from 11.6 percent to 25 percent under the new deal.
The existing deal signed in 1994 is due to expire in 2024. However, the BP-led consortium and Azerbaijan's SOCAR pledged to continue developing Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) offshore oilfield, the largest in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian basin.
BP will remain the project operator of the amended and restated agreement.
To date, the field has delivered around 3.2 billion barrels of oil production, which have been exported to world markets.
The ACG currently has eight offshore platforms - six production platforms and two process, gas compression, water injection and utilities platforms. The platforms export oil and gas to the Sangachal Terminal, one of the world's largest oil and gas terminals, onshore near Baku.
Oil output at the ACG totaled 14 million tons in the first half of 2017, or 585,000 barrels per day, down from 16 million tons a year earlier.
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