US oil giants show growing interest in Azerbaijan

American oil giants such as Chevron and ExxonMobil are showing increasing interest in Azerbaijan, Julien Mathonnière, oil markets economist at Energy Intelligence Group, stated during the event titled "Caspian and Central Asia – Refining, Petrochemicals, Trade, Logistics," held in Baku, Report informs.

He noted that this represents an entirely new trend: "These companies are drawn to Azerbaijan"s strategic position as an export route from the Caspian region. Chevron was particularly interested in the potential to export volumes produced at its Tengiz field in Kazakhstan, located on the opposite side of the Caspian Sea, via Azerbaijan. Chevron sold its 9.57% stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block, including its share in the Western Export Pipeline. The company also held an 8.9% stake in the BTC pipeline, which it sold to Hungarian refiner MOL in 2020 for approximately $1.5 billion."

Mathonnière added that there are speculations-especially in Baku and perhaps parts of Western Europe-that Chevron may renew its interest in the Western Route Export Pipeline, which runs from Baku to Georgia's Supsa port: "The fact that this conversation is happening is quite intriguing. As for ExxonMobil, the company retains a 6.79% stake in BP-operated ACG field and its gas development operations in the Caspian. There's now speculation that if ExxonMobil maintains its stake, it could benefit from a decision made in September 2024 to expand the scope of the production-sharing agreement to include large, non-associated gas reserves located above the ACG reservoir. If ExxonMobil continues its participation, it may gain access to develop this associated gas. I see some interesting developments unfolding here."

He emphasized that the situation in the Caspian region is evolving rapidly: "Azerbaijan is ramping up its exports to the European Union. BP has added six production wells to the Shah Deniz field to stabilize output. This is crucial for maintaining flow volumes and the reliability of agreements with Europe. The ambition, of course, is to double gas exports to the EU to 20 billion cubic meters by 2027. Azerbaijan also plans to export 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually to Syria via Türkiye-again tapping into the vast reserves of Shah Deniz."